Introducing BA Santamaria[1]
“Sometimes depicted as a man totally dedicated to principle, even perhaps despite consequences, he emerges…rather as an agile political pragmatist reformulating theory to suit the purpose at hand…
“[Santamaria’s] driving will is the explanatory key which allows us to see our intrepid anti-communist crusader not so much as a grand conspirator, but as a tragic figure in the classic sense, whose own indomitable will and imagination betrayed him, seducing him into a political adventure which was bound to fail.”
– Fr Bruce Duncan[2]
Bartholomew Augustine – more commonly just BA or “Santamaria” – Santamaria stands as one of the most impactful and provocative characters in Australian political history. He was one of “relatively few Australian political figures” to “leave a lasting impression on their country’s history and moral life”[3]: he deeply entangled himself in major historical events, especially the Labor Party split i
More cases of child abuse by the Spanish Catholic Church are slowly coming to light. After the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, recognized 81 victims since 1927 and announced plans for compensation, other religious congregations have begun to follow the orderâs example. EL PAÃS spoke to 10 of the main Catholic orders in Spain, of which seven said they had carried out or were in the process of investigating past cases of abuse, and were equally open to compensating victims.
These investigations, however, are not in-depth internal inquiries, but rather a review of existing archives. Importantly too, the findings have not been made public and are still far from reflecting the extent of the abuse by the Catholic Church, compared to the advances made in other countries such as Germany, where an external audit found that 3,677 minors had been abused by members of the Church.
The Primate of Spain Denounces Governmental Totalitarianism
January 31, 2021
Archbishop Francisco Cerro Chavez
The Primate of Spain has just publicly denounced government’s actions on matters of education as presided over by socialist Pedro Sanchez: “They claim to be democrats but their action is totalitarian,” writes the man of the Church.
Msgr. Francisco Cerro Chavez is Archbishop of Toledo, and, as such, Primate of Spain. In a letter published on January 17, 2021, the prelate returned to the recent adoption of an amendment to the education law.
“With a clearly ideological speech, the Minister of Education has taken up subjects which she presents as modern and which, however, are very old,” said Archbishop Cerro.
The Society of Jesus in Spain has decided to pay financial âcompensationâ to victims who were sexually abused by members of its order. It is an unprecedented move within the Spanish Catholic Church, which until now has refused to investigate past cases of abuse or pay compensation to victims. The only exception was a deal struck last month by the Marist Brothers in Catalonia, who agreed to pay â¬400,000 to the families of 25 victims who were abused at Marist schools.
The decision by the Jesuits â the name for members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order formed in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola â could bring to light years of abuse in cases that have been buried until now â as happened in the United States and other countries. Indeed, several dioceses in the US went bankrupt and were forced to sell their buildings and other properties after paying compensation to abuse victims. When the Boy Scouts of America announced last year that they
Stone shield of the Trinitarian Order on the façade of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1638-1641) in Rome. (Image: Jastrow/Wikipedia)
While celebrating his first Mass, St. John of Matha (1160-1213) whose Feast is celebrated on December 17th was granted the signal favor of having God’s Will for his priesthood revealed clearly to him. At the elevation of the Host, he fell into ecstasy at the sight of an angel appearing to him clad in a white robe with a red and blue cross upon his breast. The angel had his arms crossed with his hands resting protectively upon two manacled slaves on each side, a white man and a black man. Divinely illumined, John of Matha resolved to dedicate his priesthood to the mission of ransoming Christian slaves held captive by the Muslims.