http://www.surinenglish.com/noticias.php?Noticia=8733 The Church-state debate Pedro Ontoso <http://www.surinenglish.com/img/shim.gif> The Popes visit to Valencia has meant a truce in the continuing disagreement between the Church and the state in Spain on recent legislation and the place of religion in society
<http://www.surinenglish.com/img/linea_dis2.gif> THE arrival of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to power after eight years of conservative government in Spain was not very welcome news for the Vatican. New legislation introduced in favour of homosexual marriage was not welcomed by the Spanish hierarchy, and it upset the Vatican as well. Such laws were regarded as an affront to Catholic thinking. The influential Cardinal Bertone, the Popes right-hand man in the Vatican and number two on the power ranking, summed up the thoughts of his colleagues with the following words: Zapatero has given the Church a slap in the face. This statement by one of the pillars of the Catholic Church in Rome was a big disappointment for those who believed progress in Church/state relationships would be smoothed considerably by the arrival of Ricardo Blázquez as head of the Spanish hierarchy. If the election of the new Socialist government had been welcomed by the Gay community, it was because new legislation in their favour had been promised in the Socialist election campaign. But Cardinal Ratzinger had been elected just two months previously, and his views on matters considered progressive by many Catholics were well known. The anger of the new Pope was made evident when he refused to meet Spanish Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero on Rome, a gesture that contrasted with his warm greeting of the Spanish Royal Family some time later. He welcomed them in his summer residence of Castengandolfo, and also welcomed the main opposition leader, Mariano Rajoy, along with the former Spanish Conservative Prime Minister, José María Aznar. Identities Disagreement between the Spanish Socialists and the Church goes back a long way, and it has been aggravated over the years by the occasional reminder that the Spanish Socialist party is not a firm supporter of the Catholic Church. Cardenal Antonio Rouco, then head of the Spanish Church, and the Archbishop of Toledo, the now Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, have always expressed their opposition to the Socialist party, accusing them of introducing laws in opposition to religion and the Church. One of the issues is the so-called Recuperation of the Historic Memory of the II Republic, which means, among other things, not forgetting exactly what happened as far as Church and state was concerned during the Spanish Civil War. This question is used to argue Socialist opposition to the Church in Spain, and Prime Minister Zapatero has even been accused of speaking better of Islam than of Catholicism. Influential Spanish members of the Vatican hierarchy support this view. Pope Benedict XVI reminded his listeners of the three pillars of Catholic society in his speech to the European parliamentarians, and did it in the presence of the new Spanish ambassador to the Vatican: the protection of life, the family and education. But the Spanish government has been soft on abortion, fertility treatment, homosexual marriage, divorce and secular education, and has plans to introduce new legislation that would make sex-change operations available on national health in specific circumstances. All this is upsetting to a large number of Catholic groups in this country, quite apart from the Church itself, who believe that some fundamental rights are being infringed by the Socialists. Many of these groups have taken to the streets in protest against the new government legislation, accusing it of using its power to impose its own sense of morality on Spanish society. Demonstrations against the new education and family laws have been attended by members of the main opposition party, the Partido Popular (Peoples Party), prompting government comments about holy alliances and Catholic fronts that aim to undermine the concept of secular government. The bishops have called for civil disobedience. Only just laws have to be obeyed, said Jesuit spokesman Antonio Martínez Camino. Perhaps the biggest of these issues is the new education law that makes the teaching of religion in Spanish state schools non-obligatory. Curiously, teachers of religion in Spanish state schools have traditionally been hired by the Church, and mostly paid by the state. This is clearly a means by which the Church can exercise control over who can and cannot teach religion in schools, and the Church would dearly love to hold onto this right. On the other side is the state, which, especially under Socialist government control, sees itself as having the right to appoint all teachers in state schools. The issue is, quite simply, a pot waiting to boil over. As one senior Churchman says: The educational system is one of the worst things that is happening to Spanish society. The other big issue is who pays the Church itself in Spain. Who finances Rome? The Minister for Justice, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, believes that the present financing system is unsustainable, and has initiated a revision of the 2007 budget aimed at adjusting and updating the system, as he puts it. The perfect system would clearly be self-supporting, but this is a long way down the line for the Spanish Church. The bishops are demanding an increase in the percentage of income tax that can be designated to the Church (from 0.52 to 0.80 per cent), but agreement on this has still not been reached. Involved in the negotiations are the director of Religious Affairs Mercedes Rico, and the manager of the Episcopal Conference (the highest Church body in the land), Fernando Giménez Barriocanal. Last week, in a seminar on Laity as the road to liberty, the most radical sectors of the PSOE party spoke out against the privileges of the Spanish Church, proposing greater neutrality on the part of the state with regard to Church financing. During the most difficult moments of the negotiations with the Church representatives, the vice-president of the Government, María Teresa Fernández, used the threat of partial withdrawal of government support for the Church as a weapon. She had taken over direct control of Church/state relations on assuming office, and made an unexpected visit to the Vatican on 12 November 2005 to complain in person to Cardinal Angelo Sodano about the treatment her government was receiving from the Church-owned radio station in Spain, La Cope. The appointment of Ricardo Blázquez as head of the Episcopal Conference had indicated, the government believed, a more open approach on the part of the Church to Church/state relations, but as it turned out, the Church is represented by many powerful men in this country, and Cardinals Rouco and Cañizares are among them. The Vatican, it transpired, was placing its own strong men in position. Significant too was the support from the Vatican of a document put out by the Episcopal Conference on the subject of free thinkers (read rebels) in the Church, signed by Monsignor Romero Pose. He was also the author of a pastoral letter on the unity of Spain. The most progressive elements in the Episcopal Conference fear that this bishop, also the Bishop of Bilbao, will not be re-appointed as its head when his mandate comes to an end. Public and private While the Cold War between Church and state continues, there is also the question of the right of the Church to attempt to influence the people of a secular society. The PSOE government believes that religion has no place in this society, and most of the senior government members are opposed to any special privileges for the Catholic Church, even if most Spaniards are Catholic. The Church is not in agreement with this philosophy, and is unwilling to debate it. The bishops believe, they remind us, in religious freedom, and for them, this means the obligation of the state to protect the right of ordinary people to express their religious freedom. It comes down in the end, as many deep issues do, to a question of simple definition. In the meantime, Church leaders are calling on all Catholics to organise themselves to exercise more pressure on the politicians, as they put it. The only certainty is that this is an issue not likely to be resolved in the immediate future. The Vázquez effect The Government took an important step in attempting to close the rift between Church and state last February when it appointed the then mayor of La Coruña, Francisco Vázquez, as Spanish ambassador to the Holy See. Vázquez is a fervent Catholic, and his appointment amounts to a friendly gesture by Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero towards the Vatican. The Papal Nuncio himself could not hide his surprise and happiness at such a move by the Government. In presenting his credentials in the Vatican, the Pope invited him to help strengthen ties between the Spanish state and Rome, suggesting more co-operation on a regional basis as well as national. Vice-president Fernández de la Vega, representing the government, was quite willing to go along with this idea, mentioning mutual respect as a basic value. The vice-president wished the Pope a long and fruitful pontificate, as she put it. And the future? The sociologists like to remind us that religion is still a powerful force in politics, and especially at election time. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/SISQkA/gOaOAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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