For the bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Talltavull, “Ramón Llull has a multi-secular devotion, of different confessions, but also of non-believers.” “He is a layman who offers us a legacy to lead an authentic Christian life,” he emphasized. This was stated this afternoon during the presentation of Ramón Llull’s ‘Enchiridion Theologicum Lullianum’, published by the Library of Christian Authors.
The Mallorcan prelate sponsored the launch of the book in Madrid this afternoon, together with Armand Puig i Tàrrech, president of AVEPRO, the Agency for Verification and Promotion of the Quality of teaching in the Universities and Ecclesiastical Faculties of the Holy See. Furthermore, Jordi Gayà Estelrich, editor of the work, also spoke at the event; Julia Butiñá Jiménez, translator of the work; and Juan Carlos García Domene, director of the Library of Christian Authors. Among the audience was also the auxiliary bishop of Madrid, Juan Antonio Martínez Camino.
Dialogue with Islam
“Beyond his intellectual quality, he has a strong missionary imprint, becoming the first theologian to positively propose dialogue with Islam,” commented Taltavull. “If we want to present him as a reference for holiness, we have to read more, research more and write more about him.“, encouraged the bishop about “this believer in love with Jesus Christ in not easy peripheries.”
The priest Jordi Gayà highlighted how “he took theology very seriously, to make a theology a reality attached to the present and linked to a layman, since he was one.” Of course, he admitted that “Llull’s work is difficult to appreciate, because his theology in some aspects departs from scholastic theology.” “The main interlocutor in front of him is the Muslim and he understands that his two main articles have to be the trinity and the incarnation. Everything else has to be framed for him around this summit,” she added, underlining the importance that the Mallorcan thinker gives to art. From there, he made a call to “bring Ramón Llull closer to the people.”
a confessor
“We are never aware of who ends up buying or reading a book and what influence it may have, but I am sure that this book will have an enormous cultural effect,” Puig said. “Llull is not just a theologian, but he is interdisciplinary, he dialogues with other sciences and with the Muslim world, which is why he is current”, he noted, convinced that he is also “a confessor who affirms the creed, not in an ambiguous way, but a precise option to unite theology and mission, thought and praxis.” Likewise, he praised his ability to unite reason and faith.
“It is the most complete Lluc,” stated Julia Butiñá Jiménez, translator of the work. “We find Llull’s modernity in his defense of common interests and not of individuals,” he added in reference to the need to create a united Europe.
