Catholic Church admits Spain is a mission field

Madrid, March, 2009

In a historic announcement, the Catholic House of Bishops recognises publicly that Spain is a mission field. They therefore join Evangelicals in accepting that increasing secularism makes evangelism a priority, but for one of the ´homes´ of Roman Catholicism to recognise itself as a mission field for Catholic missionaries is a major departure.

“Missionaries from other countries are coming to help us in our evangelism because things have changed dramatically in a very short space of time”, says Ramón del Hoyo, Chairman of the (Catholic) Episcopal Missions Commission, and Bishop of Jaén. No longer are the conquistadores marching out with Catholic chaplains, but foreign missionaries are arriving in Spain and coming across “people who are not baptised and people who do not know the Gospel. ” Evangelicals may permit themselves a wry smile at this observation; it has been their experience for as long as they have been around.

The lack of ordinands for the priesthood is a major problem for the Catholic Church, and Del Hoyo also believes “there is a real danger that these missionaries are seen as voluntary workers. ” He fears that the real work of the Church will be lost amidst the social action being carried out by many aid agencies, some of which are linked to sectors of Catholicism. He understands that members of religious orders also help the needy, but stressed that “this is not their main task; evangelism is. ” It is fascinating to hear what is a perennial dilemma for Evangelicals - evangelism vs social action - expressed by a leading Catholic cleric.

GIJON, - Source: El Periódico / ACPress.net

Americans criticise favourable treatment of Catholic Church

Madrid - March, 2009

The American State Department has put its spotlight on Spain in its latest report on human rights, and is particularly critical of the privileged position held - unconstitutionally - by the Catholic Church, of the number of racist crimes and the treatment of immigrants (including specific cases of police abuse).

The report, produced by a group which is headed by Hillary Clinton, says that Spain in general is a country which respects the rights of its citizens, and praises the government´s work against ETA, its strengthening of the Children´s Law, and its campaign against domestic violence. However, it highlights several black spots, including the number of legal cases still awaiting trial, and the favouritism shown to the Catholic Church (with the obvious corollary of discrimination against other religious groups).

Basing its report on complaints by certain non-governmental groups, the Americans criticise the way the government deals with asylum seekers and immigrant children, explaining that minors are often kept in centres in the Canary Islands with adults. In this they echo the calls of ´Save the Children´ for these children to be repatriated.

The report is even more critical about the position of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain. While supposedly a nation without a state church, in practice the government deals with the Catholic Church in a very different way from its dealings with other religious groups. The report highlights the enormous fiscal advantages that the Catholic Church enjoys over all other religions, including Evangelicalism, and refers to the difficulties these other groups often have in obtaining permission to open places of worship, making them in effect ´second-class citizens´.

The report also criticises some actions of the opposition Popular Party, such as their support for the banning of veils in schools, and the failure of Valencia Council (controlled by the PP) to give local Muslims a reply about permission to build a mosque in the city, permission which was first requested two years ago.

The European Network against Racism and Xenophobia says about 4,000 racial crimes are committed in Spain each year, whereas the Madrid government only recognises between 90 and 120. Last year, Amnesty International also published a very critical report of how little it said the government was doing to stop the abuse of foreigners. The most notorious case was the murder of a Senegalese immigrant in Roquetas in September, where residents chased immigrants for seven hours following the murder, and burnt down two houses. The report also mentioned police aggression in Barcelona against immigrants.

GIJON, - Source: Agencias / ACPress.net

Indoctrination removed from Citizenship

MADRID - March, 2009

The Supreme Court´s decision not to grant parents the right to remove their children from Citizenship classes on the grounds of conscientious objection has been tied to a removal of some of the more controversial content, according to César Vidal, the presenter of current affairs radio show La Linterna. Vidal says the government has been thwarted in its attempts to use the classes to indoctrinate children in subjects such as homosexual marriage, ideologies like communism and republicanism, and religion.

The court ruling states that “the fact that the subject Citizenship is legally valid does not authorise the education authorities, nor schools or teachers, to impose or spread, even indirectly, points of view on controversial moral issues. ” Vidal, an Evangelical though working for a Catholic radio station, believes this means that the government will not be able to use the classes to inculcate students with their points of view on issues like homosexuality, gender, abortion or euthanasia. Vidal adds, with a touch of sarcasm, that the court has trimmed the subject´s syllabus “so much that the government might not think it worthwhile continuing to offer it. ” What the ruling does do is give parents the job of monitoring the content of Citizenship lessons, and the opportunity of taking action against schools or education authorities who ignore the ruling.

The Education Minister, Mercedes Cabrera, responded rather scathingly by reminding pupils of the punishments in store for those who fail to turn up for Citizenship lessons, just like in any other subject. The opposition Popular Party though expressed their agreement with the parents who have objected to the classes, saying that the government has no right to indoctrinate pupils. They also point out that this ruling opens the doors for parents to complain about the content of the teaching in Citizenship lessons if it goes against their beliefs.

The Spanish Schools Confederation has also given its reaction to the Court´s decision, saying the State should be neutral on issues of moral instruction and continues to call for the syllabus to be modified. They say they will take their case to Strasbourg if the Supreme Court´s decision is not upheld.

GIJON, - Source: COPE / ACPress.net

Re-drawing the religious map

MADRID - Feb. 27, 2009

The secular press continue to report on the growing numbers of people who follow a different faith from Roman Catholicism. For instance, in the small provincial capital of Vitoria, there are now more than 2,000 people who fall into this category.

Such a statistic would have been unthinkable even ten years ago. The continuing arrival of immigrants has contributed hugely to the growth of non-Catholic religious groups. In fact, immigrants now account for about 10% of the town´s population. Among the religious minorities in Vitoria, about 500 people are Evangelicals, and something like twice that number are Muslims. There are now four mosques and seven Evangelical Churches in the town.

These groups are followed by the Jehovah´s Witnesses, who have about 300 members who meet in two Kingdom Halls. The Mormons, who have one place of worship in the town, are the fourth largest group with something under 200 members. It is not only secularism that is on the rise in Spain today.

Source: El Correo / ACPress.net


Inquisition book finally published in Spanish after 430-year wait

MADRID, - February 2, 2009

A book written in the 16th century under the pseudonym of Reinaldo Gómez Montes has finally been published in Spanish. The unknown author was one of the early Spanish Reformers, influenced by the teaching and writings of Martin Luther, and is one of the first works to describe the awful methods employed by the notorious Spanish Inquisition.

Translated from the original Latin by Ruiz de Pablos, it provides important details about Spanish Protestant martyrs in the 16th century, and was officially presented at the Reformed Ministry Conference in Madrid last week. Montes´ work describes how the Inquisition imprisoned, tortured and executed those whose thinking differed from the ferociously narrow Catholicism of the day. Among the victims were some of the earliest Spanish Protestants, who were persecuted so severely. The book highlights the great contrast “between the desire to think and speak freely, and the repressive regime which used all its power to prevent such freedom”, according to Emilio Monjo, Director of the MadEduforma History Collection.

The arts of the Spanish Inquisition was first published in Heidelberg in 1567 and translated into every available European language, except Spanish. The latter has had to wait 430 years due to censorship.

Source: Protestante Digital / ACPress.net