Spain
“As far as democracy and human rights are concerned, God is a recent convert.”
— Josep Borrell, Spanish Socialist politician and, since 2004, President of the European Parliament
These fireworks are let off in the square in front of the Cathedral of Santiago every year on the eve of July 25th, when the king offers Spain to its patron, St. James. In 2004 the Archbishop used the occasion to denounce the new socialist Prime Minister Zapatero and said that the Church had every right to interfere in national politics when this involved “the salvation of souls”. [1]
Of course, the Church has the democratic right, like everyone else, to speak out in the pulpit or newspapers. However, he seemed to be defending the tactic whereby the Church calls on Catholic MPs to vote down legislation it doesn't like. When it does this, the leftist politician, Gaspar Llamazares, accuses the Church of “delegitimising parliament”. [2]
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More than €6 billion of public money reported to go to the Catholic Church or its organisations in Spain |
This report from Spanish organisation Europa Laica (Secular Europe) estimates and itemises the subsidies for both “faith-based welfare”, as well as direct grants to the Church. | |
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Latest news: Concordat challenged |
A Spanish judge questions the legality of the Concordat before the Constitutional Tribunal. His ruling says the State cannot delegate education to the Church | |
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About Spanish concordats | |
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Spanish concordats of the 19th and 20th centuries |
Queen Isabella's concordat of 1851 was abrogated in 1931, but Generalissimo Franco, restored Church privileges in his concordat of 1953 (for which the pope decorated him). However, he guarded his right to appoint bishops, and only his death allowed the pope to regain control of the clergy through a new concordat in 1976. By then the Vatican was obliged to agree to more separation of church and state. | |
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Summary of Queen Isabella II's concordat (1851) |
Queen Isabella II relied upon reactionary generals, conservative politicians and the Church. She was finally forced to abdicate in 1868, but her concordat lasted until 1931, when it was thrown out by a Republican government. Ten years later it was revived when Franco's 1941 Convention with the Vatican restored its first four articles. | |
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Generalissimo Franco and the Vatican |
A wartime ruler gets a modus vivendi — and only when his survival seems assured is he dignified with a concordat. And if he allows the Church enough influence, he can even get away with calling his dictatorship a "monarchy" and secure royal concordat privileges. | |
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The Church shifts from partner of a dictator to special interest group in a democracy |
With the death of Franco, the Church had to revise his concordat and accept the loss of its religious monopoly. However, the new constitution was arranged so as to still give the Church a special status. (And no wonder, since the concordat, though signed later, was negotiated at the same time.) It's proven easier to remove Franco's statue than the Church privileges he helped entrench. | |
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Spanish concordat texts
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Queen Isabella II's concordat (1851) : Text, Articles 1-4 |
To guard against the spectre of democracy, this concordat gave the Church a religious monopoly, and control of education and the press. It was abrogated by the Second Republic in 1931, but its first four articles were revived in Franco's 1941 Convention. | |
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Franco's wartime convention (1941) |
Franco wanted a full concordat with royal rights of patronage. The Vatican, uncertain of his future, compromised with a less official "convention" which gave him only a limited role in choosing bishops. After Franco's regime (unlike the other Fascist ones) managed to survive WWII, this was confirmed in Articles 7 and 8 of the 1953 Concordat. | |
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Franco's concordat (1953) : Text |
"The agreement was more favourable to the Vatican than to Franco....The Concordat served, nevertheless, to legitimize the regime in the eyes of many Spaniards, and it was instrumental in strengthening Franco's hold over the country." | |
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Modifications to Franco's concordat (1976) |
This largely rescinds Franco's royal privilege (patronato) of helping select bishop, confirmed in Article 7 of Franco's 1953 Concordat. It also reduces the legal immunity of clerics to criminal law set forth in Article 16 of Franco's Concordat. | |
