You go out onto the street and see the city full of banners welcoming the Pope with the symbol of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the City Council of Barcelona. They spread like a dystopia. Welcome Leo XIV. Some official buildings have also hung posters and all we're missing are the tricorn hats of the Guardia Civil guarding them. They are no longer needed. A progressive pope is like a pacifist soldier. Buying into these definitions is to resign oneself to war and regression. The institution that the Pope represents is, among other things, anachronistic, hierarchical, and sexist. Which, admittedly, can be said of many other institutions. The monarchy, not to mention. And everything is maintained and we pay homage to everything. Lest we live without it. Coincidentally, the Spanish monarchy and the Pope have in common that their representatives, good men, are heads of state. And the citizens, solicitous, kiss their feet. Of course, with freedom. That the dystopia, if you look at it from afar, is only aesthetic. And it seems to you that you can still choose. But we must take into account the permanent plea, asking for permission from the popes and the Pope, that events in Catalonia be held in Catalan. Although events like these, to maintain the distinction they deserve, should be held exclusively in Latin. If we accept the habit that makes the monk, let it be from head to toe. The feet that are kissed.
We are not content with Barça, the other religion that also demands an astronomical media deployment, now comes the one that thinks that the thousands of cases of pedophilia and the cover-up of pederasts worldwide are solved by asking for forgiveness. Forgiveness is for its walls, but not for the non-confessional walls that should protect everything else. And non-confessional means free to practice any religion. So that the hyperventilated Catholics can breathe. Faith, any faith, at home. And God, everywhere, if you are looking for him. But of course, this is just an opinion. Which I suppose some Catholics will allow me to have before crucifying me. Because they must also understand that the Pope's visit is not a cause for joy or celebration for many people. And that the contradiction it represents in itself becomes evident. Because it is obvious that Jesus of Nazareth would not be happy with the hierarchical representation of white men that has always led the Holy See. Not even that they represent him as a blonde, pale-skinned man. That he did not end up as he is supposed to have ended up because ultimately the money it costs is obtained from the poor. And all this so that the visit is a success and we Catalans look good to the Vatican and its current accounts. That even demagoguery is not equal for everyone in this more just world they preach.
You don't have to be an atheist to criticize this media deployment. I know many believers who also don't see it in a good light. Precisely because believing in God, which is naturally respectable and, from my point of view, even enviable, has nothing to do with turning the city into a circus and public spending being allocated to a fanfare far removed from Christian austerity. Now that religion is back in "fashion" is a good time to reflect on it. But, instead, what we do is the same as has always been done. Turn it into an instrument of alienation and power, and build over and over again that golden calf to which the head of the Catholic Church subscribes against Moses. And no, in this case, you cannot say: "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." They know and they know very well. And the banners remind us of it.
