The Archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, warned from the pulpit of the Basilica of Covadonga that he does not need anyone to teach him how to give a homily or to try to censor him by accusing him of being an “ultra-rightist” because, as he pointed out, his words do not hide political acronyms behind them, but rather a moral judgment.
“This chair does not have political acronyms, although some insist on adding them, but rather a moral judgment that is born from the word of God and the Christian tradition,” he said during the celebration of the Mass of Covadonga, which for the first time since the constitution of the Asturian autonomy did not have the presence of the main autonomous authorities.
On August 30, the President of the Principality, Adrián Barbón, a renowned believer, announced that, for the first time since taking office in 2019, he would not attend this celebration in which “there are always controversies”, in reference to the archbishop’s homilies, to avoid his presence contributing to generating tensions and tensions.
The following day, the president of the regional parliament, Juan Cofiño, also confirmed that he would not attend the traditional mass due to his disagreement with the “extreme” statements made by the archbishop during last year’s celebration.
A few days earlier, the government delegate in Asturias, Adriana Lastra, had already questioned the usefulness of having to listen to the conflicting speeches and the extreme right-wing tone of the archbishop.
“Teaching those who do not know is a work of mercy. Since some are determined to teach me to preach, I will try to improve myself and be a diligent child,” Sanz quipped before stating that it seems that his two degrees and his doctorate are not enough to overcome the revalidation of those who “haunt at press conferences” or in open letters with Vaseline protocol.
Honestly, the archbishop added, he doesn’t need anyone to teach him how to deliver a homily or to try to censor it in a synchronous way “of the well-known and hackneyed kind of far-right mud.”
The archbishop assured that he knew well that a pulpit is not a platform for political debates nor the bar of a windmill where one speaks of a little of everything, that it is not a place to talk about pardons, amnesty quotas, tourist taxes or “hoaxes” “of those who want to govern us by bulerías.”
“Here in Covadonga, on the day of Santina, the subject is different and the forms are different,” he added after recalling that his speech is very different when he has to speak before the European Parliament or when he works as a professor from his university chair.
Yes, he took the opportunity to agree with those who love life, who are against abortion or euthanasia, and with those who defend the truth and distance themselves “from lies and liars when speech is shamelessly trivialized.”
He also claimed the family founded between man and woman, “accepting that there are other forms of coexistence that will require legal recognition, but that will never be comparable, and those who love equality between man and woman in their differentiated complementarity”, without an “arrogant machismo that kills and without the empowered and exclusive feminism that its gender dictatorship imposes.”
“There is no one left here, and we do not miss any of those who refuse to enter Maria’s house and are absent for reasons as dubious as they are strange,” added Sanz, who pointed out that in the public arena it is often seen “that there are controversies.” Artificial and synchronized actions are necessary to cover up the shortcomings, conceal the shame and distractedly hide the true intentions.
Without the presence of the three highest regional authorities, the mass was followed from the basilica by the president of the PP of Asturias, Álvaro Queipo, the secretary general of the Forum, Adrián Pumares, and the parliamentary spokesperson of Vox, Carolina López.
