Bishop José Ignacio Munilla: Socialism is an ideology “enemy of the Cross”

The Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, Bishop José Ignacio Munilla defined socialism as an ideology “enemy of the Cross” at the Catholic Congress and Public Life organized by the Catholic Association of Propagandists this weekend.

During his conference titled Think and act in times of uncertaintythe prelate pointed out that “this advance and this systematic imposition of a new society, we will not be able to face only with denunciation and political alternation, but rather a movement of converts is required. We are only going to get out of this crisis through a renewal of holiness.”

Likewise, he asserted that society needs a “change in worldview in which we go from being enemies of the Cross to being the people of the Cross” because, he stressed, “without the Cross there is no glory; There is a big mistake which is to make a dichotomy between the Cross and happiness; The Cross leads us to glory, and glory is complete happiness.”

In this context, he defined socialism as an “ideology enemy of the Cross” whose sociological and political currents have become “the tomb of the people, in which ‘daddy State’ solves all problems”, without appealing to sacrifice and commitment of individuals.

Consequently, an “anthropological crisis is generated, elevated to the category of law and supreme norm, which seeks to rebel against the natural order, converting wounds into rights, instead of accepting emotional wounds, the result of the disintegration of the family.”

The prelate added that “an attempt is being made to compensate for man’s inner emptiness with consumerism and materialism; fleeing from emotional commitment and the opening of the gift of life; and suffering is being treated as something incompatible with human dignity: this world suffers greatly for not wanting to suffer, for escaping the cross of Christ.”

Hadjadj: facing uncertainty is a life or death challenge

For his part, the French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj addressed the general motto of the congress, What are you going for? Think and act in times of uncertaintyappealing to the involvement of each person: “Where are you going? Not ‘where is the world going’, since with this question one can be a spectator and can be content with a lament.”

Hadjadj has pointed out that living in a time of uncertainty “is not just any challenge”, but rather a challenge that is configured as a question “if not of honor, at least of life or death.” For this it is necessary to “have the soul healed, to accept having the body bruised in martyrdom.”

At the same time, he pointed out that it is inevitable to experience “the least confessable emotion: fear. Not so much the fear of dying, as the fear of living up to the challenge, of maintaining our reputation for being alive.”

In postmodern Europe, this challenge is embodied in a continent, a society that “despairs of humanity and that today tends to constitutionalize abortion and euthanasia; to review colonial history that puts the conqueror and the missionary in the same bag.”

These are demands “that many imagine linked to the affirmation of individual freedom and, in reality, emanate from the death of desire. “They correspond to the agitation of despair,” said the philosopher.

Ayaan Hirsi: the less Christian presence, the greater the crisis in the West

The congress also included the participation of Ayaan Hirsi Alí, a human rights activist, who stressed that “the less presence of Christianity there is in society,” the greater the social crisis in the West.

In his presentation, titled Free to seek the truth, Hirsi stated that multiculturalism and globalization are “two sides of the same coin.”

On the one hand, there is a “retribalization of society, with the growth of identity groups “that have no national loyalty to the country they call home.” On the other, the evaporation of a set of shared values, the fragmentation of society and the ethnicization and racialization of all political issues.

In this sense, he denounced the “atrocious restrictions on freedom of expression, religion and the resurgence of valid and legitimate racism against whites and against Jews in Europe and America in the name of intersectional social justice.”

In addition, he warned of the proliferation of “pseudo religions that present themselves as equal or superior to Christianity itself,” as well as the appeal aroused by “ideas that challenge reality” such as “the existence of multiple genders.”

These currents, in his opinion, generate increasing difficulty in teaching the difference between good and evil to children. At the University, the search for truth is replaced “by the development of narratives”, while “the search for excellence through merit is branded as the enemy of diversity.”

“If this trend continues, it will mark the beginning of decline,” he emphasized.

Recover a safe and firm Christianity

For Hirsi, “we must recover a secure and firm Christianity. “Churches must stop adopting every new fad and revive the true message and teachings of Christ.”

In addition, he called for “resisting the ongoing demographic decline” in Europe, making it attractive for young people to marry and start families. He also called for schools, universities and the arts to recognize “their role in promoting the Christian ethos that led to the formation of the institutions that make the West extraordinary.”

“None of these changes can be carried out if we do not organize, participate and mobilize to achieve a strong majority that participates and acts. Only by recovering a sense of unity based on common values ​​and not differences, will we be able to build stronger and more cohesive societies in these times of uncertainty,” he concluded.

Presence of young people at the congress

The 26th Congress of Catholics and Public Life tried to reach out especially to young people, offering some specific spaces, such as holding a round table with digital missionaries.

It was attended by 1,000 young people from different Spanish cities, who received the testimony and encouragement of three evangelizers on social networks: Carlos Taracena, Carla Restoy and Irene Alonso, among others.