Storing ashes in Palma Cathedral is now possible starting at €3,000. The Cathedral has launched a columbarium service located in the crypt beneath the presbytery, allowing the remains of the deceased to be kept in a sacred space in the heart of Palma. Two options are available, with 25-year renewable concessions. Specifically, the institution offers two types of spaces: the dual columbarium, with capacity for two urns and a cost of €3,000, and the family columbarium, with capacity for four urns and a price of €5,000. Thus, ashes can be stored in the Cathedral starting at €3,000.

The parishioners of Porreres who are faithful to the Sant Felip Neri oratory will be left without a church after Palm Sunday, March 29th, the date on which Father Francesc Novella will celebrate his last Mass and lock the church doors. The closure will mark the end of an important part of the town's history and, of course, the end of a chapter in Novella's life, as he has led the oratory for nearly 30 years. For some time now, various reports have pointed to the closure of Sant Felip. In fact, during the prayers at Mass for several months, Francesc Novella had been asking for the oratory's continued operation. However, it caught the attention of the faithful that he had stopped including this prayer in recent Masses, which could mean that its continued operation had been guaranteed or, conversely, that the closure of the center was a firm decision.

Does God speak Catalan? Undoubtedly, for believers, since He is omnipotent. However, for centuries, the Catholic Church expressed itself in its ceremonies in Latin—the language of the Roman Empire, which threw the first Christians to the beasts of the circus: such are the paradoxes of life. It wasn't until the 1960s that the Second Vatican Council established that Masses would be celebrated in the vernacular: six decades ago, the Church in the Balearic Islands was embroiled in a heated debate about which language that should be. That the vernacular was Catalan had been perfectly clear to the Catholic Church in the Balearic Islands practically since the medieval conquest. Not even the growing centralism of the State made them change their position. The very liberal Bishop of Mallorca, Bernat Nadal, had the catechism published in Catalan in 1801. Bishop Pere Joan Campins created a chair of Mallorcan Language and Literature at the seminary. Bishop Josep Miralles, despite his support for the 1936 coup, had already stood firm against Primo de Rivera's Castilianizing ambitions and, during the early Franco regime, defended preaching in Catalan and published a final edition of the catechism in that language in 1937. Twenty-five years of Franco's dictatorship—a period of peace, as the regime proclaimed; yes, the peace of the cemeteries—and a segment of the Church in the Balearic Islands, as well as a segment of society, understood Castilian as the language of prestige and culture. Not all, of course: in Lluc, as if it were Asterix's village, the priest Pere Riutort promoted textbooks in standard Catalan and distributed copies of the magazine Strong Horse From Barcelona, ​​and upon moving to the Valencian Country, he would continue his work in favor of the presence of Catalan in the ecclesiastical sphere.

In 1968, the world would be governed. It was the year in which the mobilizations against the Vietnam War, begun 13 years earlier, intensified. In May, in Paris, hundreds of students took to the streets with slogans as resounding as 'Be realistic, demand the impossible'. In Czechoslovakia, Soviet forces repressed an attempt at reform called the 'Prague Spring', which advocated 'socialism with a human face'. The United States, while witnessing the rise of the hippie movement, was dismayed by the assassinations of two defenders of the rights of the Black population, the Reverend Martin Luther King and the Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy – the same tragic end had befallen his brother five years earlier, who had arrived in Mexico. He had machine-gunned university students who were demanding more democracy on the eve of the Olympic Games. At that sporting event, the anti-racist 'Black Power' movement was made visible by two African American athletes who accepted their medals raising a black glove and bowing their heads.

On the night of December 24th, as tradition dictates, numerous churches in Mallorca will celebrate Matins with the Song of the Sibyl as its central element. Year after year, this ceremony fills the churches with worshippers and curious onlookers eager to experience firsthand one of the most unique expressions of Balearic cultural heritage. The Song of the Sibyl was recognized in 2010 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. This piece of medieval origin, which symbolically announces the arrival of Judgment Day, continues to resonate on Christmas Eve in different parts of the island and keeps alive a tradition passed down from generation to generation.

Scissors, paper, and a lot of patience. What for decades was an almost secret practice, reserved for convents and a few expert hands, is now experiencing a true resurgence in Mallorca. The openwork wafers, a symbol of Christmas in the Islands, have left the churches and returned to the villages, with workshops full of people, new generations, and an official declaration as an Intangible Cultural Heritage Asset.

This year, 162,940 tax returns allocated 0.7% of income tax to the Church in Mallorca, an increase of 3,362 compared to the previous year, representing a 4.06% rise. According to data released by the Diocese of Mallorca, 24.92% of taxpayers opted for this allocation, which totaled €9.7 million, €984,176 more than in the previous tax year. Sources within the ecclesiastical institution emphasize that these figures demonstrate the growth of the social base supporting the Church's mission in the diocese, allowing for the strengthening of pastoral initiatives, social action, heritage preservation, and assistance to the most vulnerable. In a statement, the Diocese of Mallorca expressed its gratitude to all those who marked the box in favor of the Catholic Church on their tax returns this year. "Thanks to this simple and free gesture, thousands of faithful show their trust in the mission the Church carries out on the island and make it possible for it to continue its pastoral, social, and cultural work in service to all of Mallorcan society," they emphasized. This increase in Mallorca is part of a positive trend nationwide. Throughout Spain, more than nine million taxpayers have marked the box in favor of the Church, according to data from the Spanish Episcopal Conference. The total amount allocated reaches 429 million euros, 12% more than in the previous year. In 16 of the 17 autonomous communities, the number of declarations in favor has increased, indicating that trust in the work of the Church continues to strengthen. 400 million in contributions from the faithful

It is worth remembering that the tax allocation represents approximately a quarter of the income of Spanish dioceses, in addition to nearly 400 million euros in direct contributions from the faithful through collections, fees, and donations. The Diocese of Mallorca has noted that the allocation for the diocese is established through the Interdiocesan Common Fund, an instrument that channels the distribution of the tax allocation to dioceses and other ecclesial entities. The amount received depends on the capacity and financial strength of each diocese, and the distribution mechanisms follow criteria of solidarity and communion among the dioceses. In Mallorca, the funds from the Church's designated tax allow for the support of parish life, accompaniment of the most vulnerable through social action, and strengthening the formation of pastoral agents, catechists, religious, and committed lay people. They also contribute to preserving and promoting the cultural and spiritual heritage that forms part of the island's identity. They promote encounter, care, and hope in every community. The Diocese also participates in the state campaign 'Thank You is spelled with an X,' through which the Church publicly acknowledges the support of those who, year after year, choose this form of collaboration.

]]> Hypocrisy is a common vice that may initially seem harmless; after all, hypocrisy doesn't hurt anyone but themselves. The Puritan glued to a pornographic video is punished in the very act of being exposed. However, it's true that sometimes hypocrisy scandalizes and, therefore, harms others. This is the case with people from whom exemplary behavior is expected. That's why the most reprehensible hypocrisy has always been religious hypocrisy, to which today we could add that of politicians.

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