Catholic church enters Spanish election campaign
Spanish Bishops urge electorate to vote against gay weddings and negotiation with ETA
The permanent committee of the Spanish Episcopal Conference has published a letter in which it urges Catholic voters in Spain to vote for those who ‘hear their voices’ because ‘not all political programmes are compatible with their faith and the demands of a Christian way of life’.
Antonio Martínez Camino, the assistant bishop of Madrid and spokesperson for the conference presented the letter in a news conference today and said that the church had the right to speak out about legislation it considered to be ‘gravely unjust’.
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish president, currently attending the Spanish- German conference in Mallorca refused to comment over the letter but the Socialist Party's spokesman called the Church "immoral" and reminded Spaniards that bishops had helped to intermediate in talks held between the Government and ETA under José Maria Aznar.
Through the use of the letter the hierarchy of the Catholic church in Spain has placed great emphasis on several issues. Firstly it is unequivocal in its condemnation of terrorism and is opposed to any negotiations with ETA. Although it doesn’t mention the Basque terrorist organisation in name it says that ‘a society that wants to be free and just cannot recognise a terrorist organisation as a political representative of any sector of the population or use it for negotiations’.
The Episcopal conference is even more explicit in its condemnation of gay marriages in Spain and says that voters should vote for those who oppose this and quote the pope as saying the ‘family is based on marriage’ and ‘other forms of union contribute to destabilizing it, damaging its uniqueness and its fundamental social function’.
The letter also criticised other issues such as the new school subject of ‘Citizenship’ saying that it damaged the ‘rights of parents to teach their children according to their religious and moral convictions’. According to Spanish bishops there are ‘growing difficulties in incorporating the free
study of the Catholic religion in the curriculum for state schools’.
The Conference also called for freedom and respect for its opinions and repeated its right to criticise the law. It encouraged Catholic voters to vote with their conscience.
The permanent committee of the Spanish Episcopal Conference has published a letter in which it urges Catholic voters in Spain to vote for those who ‘hear their voices’ because ‘not all political programmes are compatible with their faith and the demands of a Christian way of life’.
Antonio Martínez Camino, the assistant bishop of Madrid and spokesperson for the conference presented the letter in a news conference today and said that the church had the right to speak out about legislation it considered to be ‘gravely unjust’.
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish president, currently attending the Spanish- German conference in Mallorca refused to comment over the letter but the Socialist Party's spokesman called the Church "immoral" and reminded Spaniards that bishops had helped to intermediate in talks held between the Government and ETA under José Maria Aznar.
Through the use of the letter the hierarchy of the Catholic church in Spain has placed great emphasis on several issues. Firstly it is unequivocal in its condemnation of terrorism and is opposed to any negotiations with ETA. Although it doesn’t mention the Basque terrorist organisation in name it says that ‘a society that wants to be free and just cannot recognise a terrorist organisation as a political representative of any sector of the population or use it for negotiations’.
The Episcopal conference is even more explicit in its condemnation of gay marriages in Spain and says that voters should vote for those who oppose this and quote the pope as saying the ‘family is based on marriage’ and ‘other forms of union contribute to destabilizing it, damaging its uniqueness and its fundamental social function’.
The letter also criticised other issues such as the new school subject of ‘Citizenship’ saying that it damaged the ‘rights of parents to teach their children according to their religious and moral convictions’. According to Spanish bishops there are ‘growing difficulties in incorporating the free
study of the Catholic religion in the curriculum for state schools’.
The Conference also called for freedom and respect for its opinions and repeated its right to criticise the law. It encouraged Catholic voters to vote with their conscience.
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