Socialist Spain angers the Church and conservative allies

SPAIN: The Catholic Church stands to gain little under the liberal agenda, writes Jane Walker in Madrid.

SPAIN: The Catholic Church stands to gain little under the liberal agenda, writes Jane Walker in Madrid.

More than 80 per cent of Spaniards say they are Catholics, but fewer than a third of them describe themselves as "practising". And the numbers have dropped dramatically over the years. Only 35 per cent of those under 30 are churchgoers - down from 95 per cent in 1960.

The majority of Spaniards are remarkably broadminded and today accept divorce and abortion, and even the prospect of gay marriages, without a second thought, although the question of adoption by homosexual couples raises more of a problem.

Within days of taking office, last April the Socialist party government angered the conservatives and the Church by keeping an electoral promise to repeal an education bill by the former Popular Party (PP) government that made religious education compulsory. They are also considering withdrawing state subsidies to the Church raised through income tax. This would be widely welcomed in a country where 70 per cent believe the Church should be self-financing.

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Just yesterday the government authorised research with embryonic stem cells. The PP passed a law last year to allow stem cell research on embryos but only under a string of conditions. But the Socialists have now removed some of the conditions so that scientists can begin their work.

The Church is fighting back, however. A group of bishops is planning to stage a demonstration to protest against these plans with a Madrid diocese website calling on the faithful to attend the "massive demonstration" in December "convened by the diocese, Christian movements, associations and groups." But the Episcopal Conference was not so sure.

Father Juan Carlos Burgos of the Conference confirmed that they had merely asked the faithful "to look into the viability" of a demonstration. "The website omitted one important word - 'probably'," he explained.

Divorce has been legal in Spain since 1981, although the process is drawn out and costly involving at least two court appearances and two legal teams. Couples must have been married for more than a year, and file for a legal separation before applying for divorce. If the new bill is passed, the formal separation process will be abolished and couples can apply for an immediate divorce by mutual consent. Spain now sits in the middle of the European league table of divorces with 126,800 couples, or 0.9 per thousand of the population, divorcing last year.

Abortion is permitted when the mother's physical or psychological welfare is at risk, when the foetus is deformed or when the pregnancy is the result of a rape. The Socialists now want to make abortion available on demand during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, demands for legalising gay marriage have been increasing. Some regional governments have introduced a scheme for gay couples to register, enabling them to inherit or receive pension rights from a deceased partner. While most agree people this is fair, not all agree it should be through marriage.

Whatever the view of the Church, the moves have raised surprisingly few hackles across the country. A recent poll on Cadena SER radio station, a media outlet close to the Socialist government, showed that 60 per cent of listeners approved of gay marriages. However, there was less approval for gay adoptions, with 48 per cent opposing them.

Mrs Ana Botella, the deeply religious wife of former premier José María Aznar and a Madrid city councillor, said this week that marriage could only be between those of different sexes. "It would be like having an apple and a pear and saying they are the same as two apples. But we should introduce a form of legalisation for de facto couples," she said.

Not all Catholics agree with Mrs Botella, however.

If the proposed demonstration goes ahead, it would be the first time the Church has called such a large scale protest against a government. But it could count on dozens of PP members who have not forgiven the Socialists for their surprising electoral victory last March.

PP secretary general, Mr Ángel Acebes, said his party would consider their action when the demonstration was confirmed. He said: "Not a day goes by without some kind of government insult or attack against the Church and its institutions in a totally unjustified and gratuitous manner. They have attacked principles, values and convictions of the vast majority of Spaniards, particularly by suspending the freedom of parents to choose the education for their children."