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Juan José Asenjo

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Sigüenza, Guadalajara, 1945. The Archbishop of Seville is on retreat.

On October 15 he raises his resignation from Pope Francis for reasons of age.

Newly designated Adoptive Son leaves the capital of Seville.

A full-blooded Castilian like you, who likes simplicity, has just been named Adoptive Son of the very baroque city of Seville. I welcome this designation with great joy and much gratitude to Seville, to its mayor, from whom the initiative came , and the political groups that supported her. In these 11 years as archbishop, did you manage to understand the Sevillian idiosyncrasy? I was not ignorant of the Andalusian idiosyncrasy because I had previously been bishop of Córdoba for seven years. It is true that there are some differences between the two cities, but yes, I have been penetrating the soul of Seville and the soul and psychology of the Sevillians. Next week he presents his resignation to Pope Francis for reasons of age. With what spirit are you facing the withdrawal? Happy and grateful to the Lord, who has accompanied me throughout my life: as a child, seminarian, priest and bishop. At the funeral for the victims of the coronavirus in the Cathedral of Seville you, suddenly he lost his sight. How are you feeling? After listening to the 'kirie' of Mozart's Requiem Mass, I say I don't see! It was a surprise. I accept what God sends me and I offer it to the Lord. I am very limited: I receive visitors, I go to the parishes, I fulfill my liturgical duties, but I cannot read or write. Walking is saving me - I do between 8 and 10 kilometers every day - and music, because you are a great music lover, yes, my whole life. I listen to everything listenable. Being a priest in Sigüenza, he went every Saturday to the Royal Theater, today the Opera House. Music saves me, accompanies me, stimulates me, calms me and makes me glimpse the beauty of God. Are the accounts of the diocese in red numbers without the income of the Cathedral of Seville for tourism? We owe nothing to anyone, nor do we have debts. It is true that we have had this big stick, with a loss of 5 million euros, which was more or less what the canons of the Cathedral gave us each year as a result of the tourist and cultural visit. We have had to adapt our economy to this circumstance. We will do less things unfortunately, but we are not bankrupt or in the red. The Church throughout the country has stopped entering millions of dollars due to the closure of the temples during the confinement. Is it worrying? The priests tell me that the collections have dropped significantly because the churches have been closed and many older people, out of fear of contagion, have stopped attending the Sunday Eucharist. But we adapt to what we have. We will make less investments, but it is not the issue that worries me the most in the life of the Church. What is it? Secularization is an issue of greater concern, compared to the important issue, but less after all, of the economy Many families who previously lived in straits have been forced to go to Caritas. I view the situation with concern. But I am happy and proud of the response that the Church is giving to so much suffering, hardship and pain. We did it in the crisis that began in 2007 and 2008 and we have continued to do so over the years. Cáritas Diocesana, Cáritas Parroquiales, the social works of the religious and the exemplary commitment of the brotherhoods ... everything is Church. They are giving the 'do' to the chest and are responding to this new situation that demands a supreme effort from us to be close to the poor. The Church is the Samaritan of humanity and we have to be close to the peoples, to those who suffer and to the poor, who are the Lord's favorites and must also be our favorites. Have you asked yourself during the worst days of this pandemic Where was God? I have not asked myself because I know that he has not abandoned us. As the 'Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans' says, for those who love God, everything that happens is for the good. God will bring good out of these evils; I'm sure. We won't get a glimpse of it yet, but we'll understand later. Have you been afraid? Well, no. I am serene and at peace with God and with myself. I am not afraid of death. Death, for the Christian, as for Francis of Assisi, is sister death, something that is not feared and is welcomed with joy. For this reason, I am not terrified of it, but quite the opposite: it is the encounter with God, with the Virgin and with my loved ones. Where is the devil today? The devil continues to act, daughter. It tries to prevent those who have wealth and wealth from helping the poor. The devil is in those moments. It exists and it tempts us. God allows it for our spiritual advancement. Spain leads the rate of infections in Europe. It definitely seems that we are not going to get better out of this crisis, I also have that impression. We believed that the confusion towards the new normal was going to be the end, but it has not been like that. The authorities have to dialogue, reach a consensus and collaborate with each other, depending on the true common good of our people, that is what all politicians say they are going to do, but in the Congress of Deputies the tension does not stop . Does it surprise you? Yes, and it saddens me too. In many Eucharists that I preside, I invite the faithful to pray for Spain, which is a religious duty. Just as it is a religious duty to comply with the norms of the health authorities because the fifth commandment obliges me to take care of my health and that of others. The fourth commandment of the law of God commands to honor our parents and pray for them and also commands to pray for our country. Every day I pray for Spain so that the authorities, laying down personal and partisan interests, with generosity and high-mindedness, seek the true common good. Today more than ever we need great consensus in Spain. Dialogue and dialogue! How do you feel about the other great wave of corruption? Corruption is a sad reality, a consequence of the secularization of society. God has disappeared for many contemporaries and, when that happens, any corruption, abuse or sin is possible. When the belief in the immortality of the soul disappears, in the reward or punishment after death, it is only possible to recreate the old slogan of the Epicureans: 'let's eat and drink because tomorrow we will die.' Is corruption a sin? You have to confess and return the money! As it is also a sin to defraud the Treasury. Is the Monarchy in danger? I hope not. I believe that the King Emeritus has rendered great services to Spain. In the end, certain less edifying episodes have come out, but that does not invalidate the great service that Don Juan Carlos has rendered for 40 years. It has been 40 years of stability, prosperity and great consensus that allowed the elaboration of the Constitution that eliminated and erased the two Spains. Will Felipe VI have it more difficult than his father? Yes, but the truth will triumph. Felipe VI is an exemplary monarch for his career, his closeness to people's problems and simplicity. This wave of now will cease. Pope Francis said he does not want Christians with a "pickled pickle face." Yes, the Pope is very direct; people understand it. He goes on to say that the Christian must be joyful and providential, knowing that God is above us and, even though the ground sinks under our feet, God continues to love us, accompany us and sustain us. That was what he meant with that phrase and other anthologies that he has. He also affirmed that the confessional is not a torture room. Yes, I completely agree. The sacrament of forgiveness and penance is very beautiful. It is neither the cabinet of a psychoanalyst nor a torture room. It is an instrument that God grants us to reconcile ourselves with the Church and with God. What miracle is necessary today, that of the loaves and fishes so that we can feed all mankind. That's possible. If the money from the weapons were used to alleviate hunger, it would disappear. There are 800 million men and women, almost a fifth of humanity, who suffer from hunger or are undernourished. The powerful of the earth have to make decisions to alleviate hunger, illiteracy and endemic diseases. What sin would you eliminate from the face of the earth? [Think for a few seconds]. Envy, which is the cause of many evils, disagreements, many enmities and sometimes actions that are certainly rejectionable or immoral.

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