Farewell to César Nombela: a great Christian scientist and an excellent defender of life

There are people who leave their mark with their way of being and also with their work, and who also do so by demonstrating an admirable coherence with their principles.

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One of those people was César Nombela Cano. His family reported his death last night. Born in 1946, César Nombela was a great scientist and a fervent Catholic, and he demonstrated with events throughout his life that both things are perfectly compatible and complementary. He was a specialist in microbiology, member of the European Academy and full academician of the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy, presided over the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) of Spain and was Rector of the Menéndez Pelayo International University and Professor of Microbiology at the Complutense University of Madrid.

He worked with Severo Ochoa, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine in 1959, at the University of New York and was part of the first Bioethics Committee in Spain. He was the author of more than 180 research papers. Among his distinctions are the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit and the gold medals of the University of Lérida and that of Castilla-La Mancha.

One of the most notable facets of Nombela was his defense of human life from the beginning. In 2009 he bravely opposed and offered solid scientific arguments against the abortion law promoted by the socialists and currently in force in Spain, stating: "There is no controversy or reasonable doubt about the beginning and development of the life of any mammal, including individuals of the human species", and recalled one of the unappealable foundations of any democracy: that each human being "is the holder of a dignity that must be respected and protected."

Nombela also expressed his love for Spain and his defense of national unity in the face of the separatist coup of October 1, 2017. He did it with these words: "Spain is My homeland. Like me, millions of Spaniards feel it that way, trying to live intellectually honest and assume the history of our ancestors. It is true that there are ways of seeing it that can have many nuances. through this world is similar to that of humanity. It is a journey that is not exempt from risk, but only those who undertake it are capable of achieving achievements. There is no doubt that Spain is built on the foundations of a civilization that illuminated the centuries and that meant progress and advancement for Humanity. Greek thought, Roman law, religious roots Judeo-Christians make up the framework in which the Spanish nation emerges."

Nombela is now in a better place, the one earned by those who bear witness to their love for Christ, for truth and goodness, both with their word and with their deeds. My hugs and my condolences to his family. Give him, Lord, eternal rest. Let perpetual light shine upon him. Rest in peace.

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Photo: Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo.