The following is a translation from an interview with then cardinal-elect Julian Herranz, speaking on Pope John Paul II and Opus Dei. The article originally appeared in the Spanish newspaper El Pais on Wednesday, Oct 16, 2003.

"His mysticism impresses me"

By Enric Gonzalez
El Pais

Cardinal Julian Herranz, who holds a doctorate in psychiatry and law, has belonged to the Papal Curia since 1960. He has worked with John Paul II during the 25 years of his papacy and as a new member of the Cardinal College, he will be a part of the selection process for the future pope.

Question: John Paul II has been a traveling pope, a pilgrim. He appears to have been more taken with the evangelical mission than Vatican administration.

Answer: The Pope gives a lot of importance to traveling, more than 100 trips; to the thousands of people he has met, to the dozens of doctrinal documents he has passed. But there is another enormous activity of which no one speaks of, the amount of hours that John Paul II has spent praying before the Sacrarium. His mysticism impresses me, he is a man who lives in continuous union with God. He is not only Vicar of Christ: he wants to bring Christ to life through words, through teachings, through gestures, and to me that mystic dimension is the strongest of all of his apostolic and missionary energies.

Q: He is not Italian and does not belong to the Curia. In what way has that changed the Church?

A: More than change it, it has raised some fundamental aspects. The mission of the Church is to bring the message of salvation to the world. That has stood out from the start. Here, in Saint Peter's Plaza, in his first speech, he said: "Open the doors to Christ; don't be afraid." He hasn't done anything else in these 25 years but announce Christ to the world. The Pope likes to raise the harmony between reason and faith, so they complement each other. In his last speech before the United Nations he was applauded for five minutes, because he had touched on the great worry of man: What is the future of humanity? God gave people freedom. The Pope argues that freedom must be defended. John Paul II has always supported the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That is the nobility of his papacy, and it will influence all future papacies, because he translated Christ's message to everything set in the 20th century.

Q: Karol Wojtyla has become a moral front and has taken on a large political antagonism, from his fight against communism to his opposition to the war in Iraq. Will his successor be able to take on this antagonism?

A: He will, for the good of humanity. The Pope loves the Church as the mystic body of Christ, but he loves all of humanity because Christ died for them. He has given great weight to the ecumenical movement to enjoy the unity of Christians, to overcome the ancestral difficulties. The Pope states that religion can never be a motive to make war. Throughout history that principal has not always been followed, but it must be in the future. John Paul II's exceptional human qualities are attractive, but what lies at the root is Christ's message. And that's the secret as well, his affinity with young people. I accompanied him, with other members of the Curia, on his recent trip to Spain. A female police escort commented: "This Pope holds great attraction for young people than the Rolling Stones!" I said he neither sings nor plays the guitar. And she said: "No, but he makes an inner music." This is the "music" of the values that young people have in their souls, more so than adults. John Paul II begs solidarity, generosity, broadmindedness of the young. At Cuatro Vientos (the recent Youth Day visit of PJPII here outside of Madrid), a million people began to chant: "The Pope is young!" It's true: age doesn't count years but a person's ability to love. Youth love. They love life. The Pope loves. He offers up his life; we see it daily on television, he gives until he can't give any more. Youth understand that. That is the power of this Pope; old, yet still young.

Q: You presided on the papal counsel for Canon Law. Has the Church made available preventive measures to get rid of [pedophilia within the clergy]?

A: That problem refers to a small part of the clergy in the United States. The large majority of American priests are great and loving. The pedophilia cases have produced enormous pain and the Church has intervened. The Canon Law is clear. This crime is sanctioned with the most serious penalty that can be imposed on a clergyman: the expulsion from the clerical state. The victims warrant concern, but the accused too, because they have a right to defend themselves.

Q: Was it handled correctly in the United States? Did you react too slowly?

A: Perhaps we didn't react with enough speed. But you have to keep in mind that in the United States the accusations stemmed from certain groups. A person should not be defamed, and the worst defamation that a priest could suffer is the accusation of sexual abuse. That morally destroys him. Law and the theology of the Church are sufficient to prevent and punish those criminals. But understand that not everyone loves the Catholic Church in the United States, and that there are certain groups that want to soil the image of a Catholic priest.

Q: No doubt the beatification of Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, with whom you lived with and worked for many years, marked this 25-year period for you.

A: I lived with him for 22 years, and from the day I met him I saw he had the makings of a saint. This may appear a tad emphatic or unjustified. But I saw many heroic signs of faith in him and his continuous union with God. The other day I read a sentence in a newspaper, a joyful statement they attributed to him which was false: "They have made us ministers!" I heard him say the very opposite. When Alberto Ullastres was named minister, in 1957 if I remember well, I was with Monsignor Escriva when we heard the news. Do you know what he said? "That they have made my son a minister isn't important to me, what is important is being a saint. I have children who sweep the streets, and a street sweeper can give as much glory to God as a minister."

Q: That phrase has been published many times, recently in El Pais.

A: I don't want to criticize, but that quote isn't true and it bothers me.

Q: Yet, he often attributed to the Opus Dei willfully with power and influence. What would that be?

A: Two reasons. First, so that light shines on those who occupy positions of relief in society, in the business world, university, or politics. And that it doesn't shine on the other multitude of Opus Dei members whose activities shine less: professionals, artists, workers, farmers. Secondly, there are those who don't understand political freedom. I was always impressed with the diversity of political tendencies within the Opus Dei. When I joined the Opus my personality was already quite informed. In the Opus there was a large amount of freedom of opinion. There is a common denominator of truths which forms the Opus Dei members, the common denominator that John Paul II insists on: the demand of social doctrine from the Church to defend life, marriage, the freedom to teach, the value of ethics, and the equality of all people. Everyone has to be in agreement with those. But not only the members of Opus Dei: literally all Catholics.