NYT article on the Monasterio de Santa Clara, Belorado

[SeñorJacques]

Fascinating article in the New York Times today about the Monasterio de Santa Clara in Belorado which might be of interest to those who have walked the CF:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/realestate/spain-nuns-convents-poor-clares-of-belorado.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gU4.7pa7.JEsDu8Sfad0j&smid=url-share

I remember trying to buy some of their famous chocolates when I stayed at Cuatro Cantones in Belorado during my walk in 2022, but they were closed that day.

(Note: I'm not sure whether this relates to "culture, history & language for pilgrims" — and certainly don't want to open a can of worms here regarding opinions on the current dispute — but I thought it was a good read. I trust the mods will move it to a different category or delete if necessary.)

 

[J Willhaus]

Yes I read about this a while back in the newspaper from Galicia. Didn't know this was still ongoing.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Fascinating. I read this aloud to my Dear Spouse over dinner, and we both thought something along the lines of "Umberto Eco could not have written anything more gripping than this!"

 

[SeñorJacques]

Fascinating. I read this aloud to my Dear Spouse over dinner, and we both thought something along the lines of "Umberto Eco could not have written anything more gripping than this!"

I'm waiting for the inevitable Netflix limited series myself ...

 

[lt56ny]

I have no sympathy for the nuns whatsoever as they have chosen to align themselves with some absolutely awful "man of G-d", Rodrigo da Silva. He is a Nazi loving hateful man. Yes maybe the nuns have been treated poorly by their very serious disagreement. But the clergy they have chosen to align themselves with, who also venerate Pope Pius and his immoral and despicable behavior during the war speaks volumes about the character or these remaining nuns. I would not be surprised if this post is taken down and I would understand that but I feel this must be said.

 

[SYates]

I think this topic is far too complicated to be discussed on a forum like this one.
BC SY

 

[Marbe2]

I see it as informational.

Would not call it a struggle.
It is a case of not following the rules of the catholic bosses. You can be pro or anti but those are the clubrules.
Plus putting their " faith " in some looney wacko ultra conservative does not help either.

Will not add more seeing it is against the rules here talking about religion and politics.

Well, the nuns haven’t left and I agree that the issue is a complicated one, but likely not as black and white as it might seem…given the history and pattern of how many religious women’s communities have been dispossessed of property they bought with their sweat and sacrifice, by numerous bishops world wide with no financial contributions from the hierarchy. However, my purpose in this posting is not to present a position, but to inform those who may be passing through Belorado of the circumstances.

 

[Kathor1]

Correct me, please, if I am wrong but these "former nuns of Belorado" (I'm quoting La Voz de Galicia of a few days ago) are not involved in catering for pilgrims, right? They don't manage a pilgrim albergue in Belorado, right? They gained some kind of celebrity status in recent years for the chocolates that they are producing and selling to the public.

Quoting La Voz again: The former nuns of Belorado have reached the most influential newspaper in the world, the New York Times. In November, they were already threatening to raise the conflict to a global level. End of quote.

I was going to mention that a forum thread about this news article had already been started last week by another reader of the New York Times but I see now that the two threads have been merged.

 

[Marbe2]

Sorry this is backwards. This is the beginning of the Times Article

These Nuns Were Excommunicated but Won’t Leave Their Convents​

The Poor Clares of Belorado, in northern Spain, are digging in their heels in a battle of wills over real estate with the Catholic Church.

Sister Berit María at a monastery in Orduña, Spain. She is one of the nuns who were excommunicated earlier this year after splitting with the Catholic Church and Pope Francis.Credit...Ana Maria Arevalo Gosen for The New York Times
By Rachel Chaundler
Published Dec. 10, 2024Updated Dec. 11, 2024
Leer en español
One afternoon this past summer, a car sped out of the gates of a convent on the outskirts of a sleepy village in northern Spain and kept going until it reached another convent 85 miles away.

Behind the wheel was a nun. In the passenger’s seat was another nun. They sprinted in the white Nissan along a country road lined with sunflower fields and wooden telegraph poles — desperate to save the way of life of their order, the Poor Clares of Belorado, which has been around since 1358, and to retain control of their three convents.

The Vatican had excommunicated the sisters and a local archbishop had threatened them with eviction because they had broken with the Roman Catholic Church. And though the Poor Clares of Belorado own two of the buildings they live in and had recently signed an agreement to buy a third, the Vatican had appointed a local archbishop to administer their properties and finances.
Image

 

[ivar]

Thanks for sharing the link... people can click and read the article. Discussion on this topic is complicated, so I will close the thread.