Does King Felipe VI's visit reflect a political shift in Montserrat?

BarcelonaThe Montserrat Abbey's invitation to King Felipe VI to participate in a millennium event sparked protests and unrest among the independence movement and Catholic Catalans. The visit, that occurred After the Royal House expressed that it wanted to take part, according to some voices consulted by this newspaper, it represents a further step in a political shift by Montserrat aligned with thestatus quo, while others, like the abbey, flatly deny it. Has there been a shift?

From the abbey, sources consulted make it clear that "there has been no shift" and that the commitment to Catalonia remains the same as always. Montserrat defends "a thousand years of stability in our Catalan culture, which we have supported in all the circumstances of its history and expressions, most notably in the evolution of its language." She has also claimed "loyalty to the country and culture" at numerous events, defending "the preservation of the language and identity" as an "important challenge." Vanguard Forums at the beginning of June. There he said some words that have not pleased some sectors, such as that "Montserrat also has to withdraw a little from that role of protection that it played in the 60s and 70s", a "political role" that was very intense at that time, and he emphasized that "as for the relations between Catalonia and Spain, we are on a path" I think that society is calmer ".

The abbey clarifies that it compared the role of Montserrat with respect to the 60s and 70s, in the midst of the dictatorship, not with respect to the 90s or 2017; that the monastery has a fundamentally spiritual task; that it defends identity and changed the identity, and that Gasch did not praise it. Church Affairs Ignasi Moreta assures that with his actions, the abbot "is aligning himself with thestatus quoIn his opinion, while Gasch says that "they shouldn't take any political action, receiving the king is a political action, which is inconsistent, and you convey Salvador Isla's message of normalcy," he says, "don't resign from this Catalanist position."

Likewise, the president of the Spiritual League of the Virgin of Montserrat, Joan Maluquer, comments that "there are actions" that could "make them uncomfortable," such as the visit of the king, against whom they expressed "the rejection of the Catalan people" in a statement. However, he does not criticize the abbot because "it is a rather complicated role" and he has had "many conditions" during the visit. He would have liked him to make a "more explicit" speech—to a king "in the vein of October 3"—but he trusts that "the river will return to its course" and that Montserrat "will continue to play this role" of Catalan commitment. He is pressing for this call, while recalling that "the monastery and its thousand-year history are above people."

On the other hand, some church sources consulted emphasize that "many people, within Christian Catalanism, complain that Montserrat is following a line that is not appropriate." They also emphasize that "it should make one think" that the ultraconservative and Spanish Catholic bloc Germinans Germinabit praises Montserrat and raised Father Bernat Juliol as its standard-bearer—while when Gasch became abbot, he was criticized for being Catalanist. "It's not the line followed by Abbot Josep Maria Soler or Cassià Maria Just," they conclude. Many opinions have arisen about the abbey's role with this visit.

In 2013, when Gasch was only a monk, he signed a manifesto in favor of Catalonia's right to decide, a position he has not renounced, according to sources consulted. The King wanted to be invited, and he was invited, to a day to talk about peace, and there could be no violence of any kind. The King's abbot's greeting to Gasch, with a nod—although protocolarily he is only required to do so to the Pope—was mentioned, and the abbot received him with episcopal honors such as the skullcap, a privilege of Montserrat. "He grew up in an environment of Catholic progressivism, and it is surprising that when he gained power, he adopted traditional politics," he maintains. Gasch has family roots linked to grassroots Christianity: his parents, Angelina Hurios and Josep Maria Gasch, founded the Ronda Collective, a group of progressive labor lawyers, and emblematic of left-leaning Catholicism.