Pope Francis receives the Bishop of Barbastro due to controversy with Opus Dei over Torreciudad

Pope Francis is showing growing interest in closing the conflict between the Bishopric of Barbastro-Monzón and the Prelature of Opus Dei over the Marian Sanctuary of Torreciudad in Spain as soon as possible.

Last Friday, Pope Francis received Mons. Alejandro Arellano, dean of the Tribunal of the Rota, whom he appointed as Pontifical Plenipotentiary Commissioner to resolve this delicate issue.

This Monday it was the Bishop of Barbastro-Monzón, Mons. Ángel Pérez Pueyo, who met with the Pontiff in “a meeting in which they discussed issues of diocesan interest,” according to the diocese. in a statement.

As confirmed to ACI Prensa by the Opus Dei Press Office in Spain, Pope Francis has already sent the Prelature a notice that they will be convened soon, although the date of the meeting has not yet been defined, nor has it emerged whether it will be the Prelate, Mons. Fernando Ocáriz, who attends the appointment.

The speed with which Pope Francis is taking action on the matter seems to convey the Pontiff’s interest in quickly closing the open wound due to the canonical configuration of the place, an important center of Marian spirituality and pilgrimages promoted by Opus Dei that It was inaugurated in 1975.

The appointment on October 9 of Mons. Alejandro Arellano denotes two important axes for the resolution of the controversy.

On the one hand, the need to have a specialist in Canon Law who is capable of finding the appropriate fit for the place, which was founded as a private oratory, but which in practice is assumed by the Prelature and the faithful as a sanctuary.

Among those who come to the place recurrently, the majority are members or sympathizers of Opus Dei, it is also considered, to some degree, as their own, given that the enormous complex was built thanks to their financial contributions. And to the same extent there are many who help to sustain it today.

The implications for the canonical qualification of the place could affect pastoral care, always entrusted to an Opus Dei priest until Bishop Pérez’s decision in July 2023 to appoint a diocesan priest for that task.

But also, for example, regarding the ownership and responsibility for the conservation of the image of Our Lady of the Angels, venerated since the 11th century, which is subject to the emphyteutic census contract (in perpetuity) made in 1962 between the diocese and a company in the name of a member of Opus Dei. This agreement was denounced by the Bishopric of Barbastro-Monzón as null and void 60 years later.

Beyond the canonical issues and their derived implications, the fact that Bishop Arellano is a native of Spain seems to be a no small characteristic when it comes to undoing the controversy.

Torreciudad is an important pilgrimage site in Spain, where thousands of pilgrims come every year, often as a family or as an initiative of schools or youth organizations.

The magnitude of the spiritual and sentimental connection with the place of thousands of Catholic faithful, mainly Spanish, but also foreigners, makes it advisable that the person in charge of settling the controversy be able to know and understand the scope of this sensitivity.