"I want to remind people that the Mass has been televised for 30 years". The controversy started from a secularist mentality. The politician Pablo Iglesias now believes that TVE "is not the most appropriate space for religious rituals."
"Dropping this programme would be a big loss to the spiritual guidance many people get from seeing Mass every Sunday on TV." Just in the past two weeks the audience has tripled "a demonstration of the wish for the Mass to continue to be transmitted."
On the other hand, "this is not a privilege of the Catholic Church. The public TV gives space to different religious beliefs: Islam, the Evangelical Church and the Jewish Community also have their space in the programmes on our TV."
"These programmes have a right to be shown because television has a duty of public service which is paid for by all Spaniards,” Fr Valiente says. “If anything, this debate must serve to make Catholics mobilize to enforce our rights."
"We believe that the Mass is not only for people to see, but to participate, and to feel part of a community that celebrates its faith."
"The Sunday Mass on La 2 must continue because for many it is the only consolation of the day” wrote a young priest, Fr Patxi Bronchalo, in an open letter that went viral on the social networks. “For many people, it is the only place they find peace and companionship. Many will no longer have food for the spirit. Many have spent a lifetime of toil and deprivation and are now alone and only God remains. Many suffer from the blows of a crisis on account of their children and grandchildren and have only God. Is it not one of the state's duties to ensure the welfare of its citizens? Is the soul not a key part to be cared for if the person is to feel well?"
Fr Valiente is convinced that "Mass on TV is a presence of God for many suffering people."
