Your social work VIII

 On the one hand, Fr. Palau is faced with the personal interpellation of those suffering faces of the Church. And on the other, to the decisions of the hierarchy in this same area. How to respond to the double challenge: to the Church in her wounded children, without scorning her in her hierarchical representatives?

A profound contradiction. The same Church that calls on him in the pain of the sick, forbids him to act. And finally, it suspends him. A heart-rending contradiction for someone who, like Fr Palau, lives the mystery of the mystical body in an integrated manner.

His inner drama consisted in the fact that the sick kept coming to Vallcarca and he had to send them away without any relief. Fr Palau fought tirelessly. The struggle forms a substantial part of his legacy, yes.

However, in Els Penitents the attitude was one of welcome, gratuity, inclusion, in all the needs of the sick. They were treated with deference. Both they and their companions were treated with deference. Anonymity and privacy were safeguarded by all means.

Both were satisfied with the treatment they received at the centre - an unbeatable testimony! This is why, later on, they corroborated what our protagonist had told the judges and the daily newspaper.

In fact, Fr Palau's service was motivated by the highest ideals. No doubt about it. If his diagnosis was sometimes inaccurate, the quality of his ecclesial service was unquestionable. Of course it was!

In the chapel of Santa Cruz the attendance was increasing. And word of the healings spread throughout Barcelona. Achievements and projects were the talk of the ecclesiastical and social scene. Suspicions and accusations abounded.

Nor did the news go down well with the surrounding clergy. Not even the bishop. The news got out to the press and the anticlerical press began to beat up Fr Palau. They called Els PenitentsHe had already done so, to his heart's content, years before, with the well-known School of Virtue. Both events would haunt him until the end of his days. Father Palau, as on many other occasions, suffered persecution, mockery and ridicule.

As time went on, comments in both directions multiplied, both in favour and against: admiration and revulsion.

He gave the bishop an account of what happened there. And he subjected the ministerial service itself to his judgement. Faithful to the end!

From El Ermitaño, the weekly newspaper he edited, he gave an accurate account of the events. He also defended his own people and their cause.

The extreme tension between the Church and the administration made it advisable to be very cautious, extremely prudent. It was when the situation became critical that the bishop intervened in the matter. For this reason he closed the chapel after the celebration of the Eucharist. Fr. Francisco presented his reasons to the prelate. He did not see why the service should be abandoned. The number of believers was increasing and morality was growing in the area. What more could one ask for! But the event ended in this way. Without further ado.