Here is an interview with Fr. Gumersindo Meiriño, a priest who got married in December 2006, that appeared this week in La Voz de Galicia. An English translation by Rebel Girl appears below the original.
Entrevista: Cura gallego casado en Argentina
Firma: Arturo Lezcano González
La Voz de Galicia
10/01/2007
Se casó con una colaboradora aún siendo sacerdote y el escándalo lo envolvió en Argentina en el último mes. El ourensano Gumersindo Meiriño, doctor en teología, aclara que la polémica fue provocada por la postura de la jerarquía eclesiástica ante su boda y proclama que el amor de Dios está por encima de todas las cosas.
¿Cómo resumiría la vida de un sacerdote gallego que se va a Argentina y termina colgando los hábitos por amor?
Dios es amor. Y yo me siento como un juguete en manos de Dios. Nunca pensé viajar a América y nunca pensé casarme, y resulta que encontré a la mujer con la que quiero compartir mi vida. Ahí está la mano amorosa de mi Padre Dios.
¿Por qué se ha montado tanto revuelo?
Pienso que el revuelo lo creó la famosa carta del administrador diocesano en la que se decía que el que asistiera a la boda caería en pecado mortal. ¿A usted le parece que mi mamá, si pudiera asistir a la boda de su hijo, estaría en pecado mortal? El papa Benedicto XVI escribió su única carta encíclica sobre el amor. Y creo que es la máxima ley que debemos cumplir los que queremos seguir a Jesucristo, que amó, según el Evangelio, hasta el extremo.
El celibato: ¿es hora de debatirlo abiertamente?
Yo valoro la vida fructífera de tantos sacerdotes célibes, pero es una ley eclesiástica y como toda ley es revisable. Es un debate abierto dentro y fuera de la iglesia.
Su esposa, ¿qué ha encontrado en ella para dejar el sacerdocio?
María es distinta y quizá lo más maravilloso es su espiritualidad. Eso es lo que más me impresionó, su capacidad de amar a Dios. Me dice que si yo estoy bien, ella está bien. Dígame si usted no se casaría con una mujer así.
¿Se atrevería con una novela sobre su historia de amor?
Sí, es una buena idea. ¿Conoce algún editor que le pueda interesar?
Translation:
He married a colleague while still being a priest and has been wrapped up in scandal in Argentina over the last month. Gumersindo Meiriño, a doctor in theology from Ourense [Spain], clarifies that the debate was provoked by the church hierarchy's position on his wedding and proclaims that God's love is above all other things.
How would you sum up the life of a Galician priest who goes to Argentina and ends up trading in his robes for love?
God is love. And I feel like a toy in the hands of God. I never thought I would travel to America and I never thought I would get married and finally I met the woman with whom I want to share my life. The loving hand of my God and Father is there.
Why has there been so much commotion?
I think that the commotion was caused by the notorious letter from the diocesan administrator where he said that anyone attending the wedding would fall into mortal sin. Do you think that my mother, if she could have attended the wedding of her son, would be in mortal sin? Pope Benedict XVI wrote his only encyclical about love. And I think that this is the greatest law to be obeyed by those of of us who want to follow Jesus Christ, who loved, according to the Gospel, to the extreme.
Celibacy: Is it time to debate it openly?
I appreciate the fruitful lives of so many celibate priests, but it is a church law and, like any law, it can be reviewed. It is an open debate within and outside the Church.
What did you find in your wife that led you to leave the priesthood?
Maria is unique and perhaps the most marvellous thing about her is her spirituality. This is what impressed me the most -- her ability to love God. She says to me that if I'm OK, she's OK. Tell me you wouldn't marry a woman like that.
Would you dare to write a novel about your love story?
Yes, it's a good idea. Do you know an editor who might be interested?
Footnote: The same newspaper also managed to get a statement from Fr. Gumer's former bishop in the Diocese of Ourense, Monsignor Luis Quinteiro, who declared himself to be "profoundly saddened" by Fr. Gumer's decision to marry and his failure to listen to the clear recommendations of the diocese and church authorities in Argentina. "We deeply regret Gumersindo Fernández Meiriño's leaving the responsibilities he freely assumed at the moment of his ordination, as well as the scandal and confusion his behavior may cause among the faithful." And the bishop asked the faithful to pray for "our brother" to come back to the priesthood in full communion with the Church.
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