The Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Vitoria made public this Tuesday a document of explicit support for Bishop Juan Carlos Elizalde, in a context marked by recent internal criticism directed at his pastoral leadership and the direction of the Church in Álava.
The text, approved after the last ordinary meeting of the academic year held on May 25, underscores the “communion, support, and ecclesial adherence” of the priests who make up this consultative body toward the Bishop of Vitoria.
“The Presbyteral Council wishes to contribute positively to this ecclesial moment,” the document states, concluding by expressing the desire to continue building “a living, close, synodal, vocational, and evangelizing Diocese” around Bishop Elizalde.
A message of unity following criticism of the bishop
The publication of the text comes after the release of a letter initially signed by two priests—and backed, according to its promoters, by dozens more presbyters—in which the pastoral governance of Elizalde was criticized, denouncing alleged cases of “abuse of power” and warning of a conservative shift in the diocese.
In response, the Bishop of Vitoria publicly denied that the letter represented the majority of the diocesan clergy and defended both his leadership and the work carried out over the past decade to address the vocational crisis and the aging of the presbyterate.
The new statement from the Presbyteral Council presents an image of institutional cohesion amid this situation of internal tension.
The diocese acknowledges a “particularly demanding” moment
In the document, the priests openly recognize the current difficulties facing the Church in Álava, mentioning “growing secularization,” “the difficulty of transmitting the faith to new generations,” “the weakening of many communities,” and “the aging of the presbyterate.”
In response, the Presbyteral Council advocates for a “renewed pastoral conversion” and an “evangelizing impulse” centered on “Jesus Christ, sacramental life, fraternity, and the proclamation of the Gospel.”
The priests also express their support for the IV Diocesan Plan for Evangelization, called Surrexit, inspired by the Gospel passage of Emmaus and conceived as the main pastoral roadmap for the diocese in the coming years.
Support for synodality and vocations
The document also values the practical application of the Synod on Synodality in diocesan life, defining it as “a concrete way of being and proceeding in the Church” based on “listening, discernment, participation, and communion.”
Likewise, the Presbyteral Council welcomes with hope the initiative “Morning Sentinels,” launched to strengthen the vocational dimension within the Christian community.
The current Presbyteral Council was constituted last March following elections in which more than 61% of the priests of the Diocese of Vitoria participated.