Song of praise to the Majorcan gifts
It is just and necessary to praise the figure of the custodians of shrines and churches, whether they are small or large buildings, medieval or modern. These people dedicated to the service of the parishes of Mallorca, and who with their silent and constant work have protected the heritage of all, keeping it open and cared for every day so that Mallorcans and visitors from the world can contemplate and enjoy it.Although the Diocese of Mallorca wishes to make it clear that it is the sole owner of the ecclesiastical heritage, it would be good for it to remember that the heritage it has registered in its own name was built and financed centuries ago, and still is today, by the people of Mallorca to whom, therefore, in justice, it also corresponds to share ownership.
Thus, the Diocese of Mallorca should not feel like the sole owner of so many Assets of Cultural Interest (BIC), as if they were private properties with which it can do whatever it wants: auction them to the highest bidder as businesses, suppress the 'donats' (lay caretakers) who looked after them, impose abusive management conditions, or leave them closed indefinitely, thus depriving citizens of being able to visit them, etc. It would be appropriate for the episcopal bursar and the bishop –who act as if they were wealthy landowners– to keep well in mind those words of the Master: “Blessed are the poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!” (Lk 6:20), or those others: “Do not store up treasures here on earth..., store up treasures in heaven” (Mt. 6:19-20).
Many Mallorcans believe that the 'donats' of sanctuaries deserve the gratitude and praise of the Diocese of Mallorca, because they have always taken care to maintain the churches as places of prayer and silence, protecting the priority dedication of these historic buildings to religious activity with the utmost respect. Beware, then, of what the authority of a clerical Church, disconnected from the believing community, is doing lately with the 'donats', to focus the new management of the Maiorica Sacra...
The praise and recognition of the generous dedication of the church 'donats' is therefore necessary, and here the public administration should intervene, because with the money of all Mallorcans, the Council of Mallorca finances the restoration of ecclesiastical heritage every year, and it should not be allowed that the Diocese, unilaterally, decides to eliminate the 'donats' –as a traditional and human system of daily opening that has been functioning for centuries– to leave the restored churches closed.
It is worth remembering the magnificent management carried out by the 'donats' (lay brothers) of Sant Miquel, in Campanet (13th century), for years, who brought light to and highlighted, through a labor inclusion project, one of the most valuable medieval sites of the Mallorcan historical heritage. Well then, these 'donats', awarded by civil society, were eliminated without any argument and in an authoritarian manner in 2021 by a Bishopric that left this excellent heritage in the dark and forgotten once again.
If that was a scandalous event, what the same Bishopric is now in the process of carrying out with the 'donats' of the Sanctuary of Gràciais an even greater scandal, due to the commendable service provided for many decades by these exemplary 'donats' that many bishops in the world would have wanted to have in their dioceses.
It is just and necessary, therefore, that many good Mallorcans raise their voices with a song of gratitude and praise for the 'donats' of Mallorca, lay Christians who, without any lucrative purpose, have dedicated many years of their lives to the service and protection of the religious heritage of all.
There is not much hope for change with this Bishopric of Mallorca, which instead of thanking and praising the management carried out by the lay 'donats', removes them with bad manners and without any social or human sensitivity. Hopefully, a new bishop and another episcopal bursar will soon come to Mallorca who truly believe in a synodal church and trust in the laypeople committed to the service of parish communities.