SALAMANCA. Spain.
The title of the new book published by the Pedro Poveda Chair at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, is "Esperanzas y desesperanzas en la sociedad actual",(Hopes and despair in today's society). The work for the publication has been coordinated by M ª Jesús González Garmendia.
The book contains reflections by: José Luis Segovia Bernabé, director of the Pastoral Institute, UPSA, Madrid; Oscar Martín Mateos, Professor at the Facultad de Educación Social y Trabajo Social Pere Tarrés, Ramón Llull University in Barcelona; Fernando Díaz Abajo, chair of the Departamento de Pastoral Obrera of the Spanish Conference of Bishops; Mª del Mar Palacios Córdoba, director of NGO InteRed. This is the ninth publication of the collection Poveda Chair at the Pontifical University in Salamanca.
T
he book was presented at the end of 2013 in the auditorium of “Colegio Mayor Padre Poveda” in Madrid. The following people participated in the event: Miguel Anxo Pena González, Professor of the Department of Theology of UPSA and representative of the University for the Pedro Poveda Chair; Loreto Ballester Reventós, representing the Teresian Association; Immaculada Delgado Jara, Director of UPSA’s Publications Services; and Jose Luis Segovia Bernabé, director of the Pastoral Institute UPSA, Madrid.
In his presentation, Miguel Anxo said that he appreciated the idea of "retrieving values and visions that are worthwhile, and this has been done by the work of Pedro Poveda Chair for 13 years." He stated that the Chair allows us to “approach the ubiquitous figure of Pedro Poveda, always concerned with projecting a perspective and society that are open, educated and authoritative. He did not present a closed or finished dialogue, but a human and Christian dialogue that was able to create awareness,” he said. Anxo suggested the challenge of starting a group of "friends of the Pedro Poveda Chair."
José Luis Segovia, one of the authors of the book, said that today it is important to strengthen the theological dimension of hope: "Small hopes that allow us to maintain enthusiasm and optimism." This requires developing attitudes that facilitate the discovery of signs of hope, he said. He spoke of faith as a "huge reservoir of hope, as the key to the treasure of knowing how to live.” He recalled the attitudes of tenderness and affection of Pope Francis and his rejection of an "economic system that kills" because it excludes or discards people.
He noted some "small hopes that motivate us to be engines of change." We have gone from the end of history to the uncertainty principle ... (today we look for people who manage and bear well uncertain situations) this allows us to recognize religion as an engine of meaning ... Learn to live out there and trust in Providence again. Pope Francis is helping us in this regard.
The emergence and awakening of civil society: We are all responsible for all. With the crisis of the state and of the market, other responses emerge from society. Many migrants continue sending funds to their countries. There are older people who have raised their children and now raise their grandchildren.
The Church's hope: we have gone from winter to the spring of Pope Francis. Probably, in history there are moments of more pessimism and of more optimism ... We are now more hopeful. There was a certain weakness, certain numbness. Pope Francis raises our hope. The Pope places the heart of the South in the North (in itself relevant). He knows how to combine signs and words, as Jesus did.
The politicization of everyday life: We had become used to a terrible individualism. Now we are more sensitized. We take the common good seriously. New social actors are emerging as heirs of neighborhood associations in the '70s, new social movements. This phenomenon is also present in the use of information technologies and communication.
Jose Luis Segovia also highlighted the need to develop certain attitudes, such as: evaluate the present time and life with faith to discover the desires of humanity as situations where God can be found. We cannot turn our backs on human suffering. The knowledge of God is to do justice. We have to recognize that the natural place of hope is the one where there is reason to hope.
Hope is cultivated with others. We must overcome parochial and individualistic perspectives. Globalization and technology also lead us to hope. The other, the different, can bring something to me. The other is an opportunity for us to hope.
Educate our view of the world, have a kind look because God is looking at us, "and God saw that it was good" ... We need a kind look on the world and on human beings. We are children of God, the principle of human perfection; we are born open to God’s dream that leads us to hope. And let us not forget that Christianity was born on the cross, said Jose Luis Segovia.
Immaculada Delgado Jara recalled the beginnings of the Chair and appreciated the effort to publish nine volumes with so many different topics, ranging from spirituality to the advances of social and scientific issues.
In closing the event, Loreto Ballester said "hope spreads, especially in educational environments.” She cited Pedro Poveda and Josefa Segovia as gatekeepers of educational environments. Pedro Poveda’s Chair is concerned with formation and provides formation, she said. It also fosters networking. She announced partnership programs with the campus ministry of Málaga and the program of “Lectura Creyente” of reality, which is offered by the Pastoral Institute UPSA in Madrid.
The book "Esperanzas y desesperanzas en la sociedad actual" can be obtained from specialized bookshops that sell publications of the Pontifical University of Salamanca; also in the university bookstore.
It can also be found at the Spirituality Center Santa Maria de Los Negrales in Alpedrete, Villalba, near Madrid
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