Rimini to bring together scientists, intellectuals and artists in a cultural eventIntellectual confreres are neededLast January 23, 2025 was one of the presentations of the book "Ubi sunt? Christian intellectuals: Where are they? What do they contribute? How do they intervene?" in Madrid, at the postgraduate headquarters of the University of Navarra, by the coordinator of the work, accompanied by Higinio Marín -philosopher- and guided by Paula Hermida, from the publishing house Cristiandad, which is the editor of the book.
How did this book come about?
The philosopher Diego S. Garrocho published on November 16, 2020 an article in El Mundo entitled "Where are the Christians?" in which he stated that he did not see any Christian intellectuals in the current public sphere. This journalistic piece sparked a debate that took the form of a cascade of interventions in the press. The first of these was three days later by Miguel Ángel Quintana Paz in The Objective, in which he invited "... radios, televisions, schools, universities, institutes, publishing houses, Catholic museums to take up this gauntlet".
Other interventions in the press by multiple authors followed, with texts of varied perspective, different ways of facing the issue and polyhedral points of view, which collected the polemic in a book coordinated by Ricardo Calleja called "Ubi Sunt?"
In the presentation, Calleja spoke about the role of the Christian intellectual in unveiling the mysteries of religion, since they are not within everyone's reach. He encouraged to be creative and to contribute suggestive ideas that lead to thinking. He showed the plurality of thought of the collaborators. He enlightened with the idea that in public life the Christian has to act with prudence but without ceasing to govern and command when one has a position of relevance, because not to govern is to be governed by circumstances. One should not be afraid to make mistakes. He argued that because we are Catholic we should not be uninhibited in our responsibilities for fear of hurting or not being loved.
Change of the public square
Marín showed how the public square has changed, thanks to the RRSS and digital media, and anything is reflected, such as this book, which has had an echo and impact. According to the author of the epilogue, the contributors to the book contribute ideas, but above all they are exposed and made available to the reader. He also spoke of the danger of the "expert" who is not sufficiently humble and who does not realize that not everything has an easy and definitive answer. It is necessary to study, on a regular basis, in order to be able to give a profound answer. He clarified something similar to the fact that it is okay to say "I don't know" when faced with a complicated question and add "I have to study it". He also added that there are no "political geniuses" in the Spanish arena to help in this process of helping society to think.
Several authors of the book's essays were present at the presentation. Such as Pablo Velasco, Armando Zerolo and José María Torralba. The latter spoke of the importance of the training We are also aware of the need to be natural and to show ourselves as we are in our professional and family life, just like any other citizen.
Armando Zerolo spoke of the importance of participation in the cultural battle, in a temperate and non-polarized, but active manner.
In no case do the authors wish to answer this question. They leave the door open to debate.
