The episcopal co-prince of Urgell, Mn. Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat, presided this Sunday over the prayer for the deceased in the chapel of the Hospital Nuestra Señora de Meritxell, accompanied by the priests Jaume Soy and Toni Elvira. According to La Veu Lliure, during the ceremony, before a group of faithful, the prelate pronounced some words that take on special meaning amid the debate on the decriminalization of abortion:
“We are given to live; this life does not depend on us. Life has been given to us forever. Our entire existence is a yes to life.”
These words come after a prolonged silence from the co-prince on the issue. At the beginning of October, when consulted by the media, Serrano Pentinat had said: “It is not up to me to make decisions or speak about it. The interview for me has been the prayer.”
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Although the co-prince did not speak directly about abortion, his phrase —“Our entire existence is a yes to life”— has been received as a reaffirmation of Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life. In a country where the episcopal authority shares the head of state, his words carry an inescapable moral weight.
The message of Serrano Pentinat, pronounced from an altar and not from an office, reminds us that “life does not depend on us”. In a society facing political and cultural pressures to legislate against natural law, his voice rises as a pastoral reminder: human existence is a gift, not a decision.
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