The "Benavent effect": new stage, new communication frameworks

When the appointment of Enric Benavent as the new Archbishop of Valencia was announced last October, surely everyone associated him with the idea of ​​change, renewal, fresh air.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
16 December 2022 Friday 00:34
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The "Benavent effect": new stage, new communication frameworks

When the appointment of Enric Benavent as the new Archbishop of Valencia was announced last October, surely everyone associated him with the idea of ​​change, renewal, fresh air. Without the need to take any action, a kind of "Benavent effect" was already attributed to him in our house, with the consequent generation of expectations that it entails not only in the ecclesiastical world, but also in the population as a whole. In fact, he himself explained in an interview done by Esperança Camps that he lived this with a little fear because he does not know if he will be able to meet the expectations generated.

Benavent projects himself - or we project him - as a change in opposition to the conservatism of Cañizares, the previous archbishop. It is not that he is the most progressive in the world, but his moderate temperament is opposed to that of his predecessor, who liked to have media impacts by commenting on current politics. But Benavent has already made it clear that this is not his path: "the Church is not a political party", although it has the duty to "work for a fairer society", he affirmed last Saturday in his take of possession at the Headquarters in Valencia. A whole statement of intentions that closes one door and opens another.

Beyond depoliticization, there are two communicative axes to highlight in this first major public appearance as archbishop. On the one hand, the bet for the language. It was a historic demand to have a bishop who spoke the language of the people and who celebrated the liturgy in Valencian, and with Enric Benavent it has been achieved. As usual, interspersing the two official languages ​​and dignifying Valencian also in the ecclesiastical sphere. Along these lines, the President of the Valencian Courts, Enric Morera, emphasized: "I attended to support the person and the opportunity he represents. Today, for many years, sermons have been preached in Valencian in the Cathedral, readings have been read in the language that Saint Vincent spoke here, or the reminder itself was written in Valencian, the predominant language of the Document Archive of the His".

On the other hand, it is necessary to emphasize the dialogue model, of unity from plurality, since he has pointed out that he is familiar with the many realities of the Valencian diocese. Ximo Puig, President of the Generalitat, emphasized his "willingness to understand and respect the rest", while Mª José Català, general secretary of the Valencian PP, focused on the demand to "attend to the suffering of society through a united church”. He is committed to an open church, where all sensibilities can be accommodated, and proof of this is also the agenda and the different actions - public and private - that the archbishop has carried out at the time of taking office.

We do not know if Benavent will be able to achieve this unity and face all the challenges that lie ahead. What is clear is that with a single great appearance he has been able to convey to society that a new stage is opening in the Valencian Church where the communicative frameworks are different: plurality, depoliticization and linguistic normalization.