Discussion of the political upheaval brought about by regional and municipal elections across Spain as well as Mallorca has focused primarily on the circumstances which contributed to this upheaval; there has been less discussion as to what it will actually all mean. In Mallorca, consideration of the consequences of change has been specific, such as the likelihood of an eco-tax being introduced. Important though such policy is, it is not a consequence at a fundamental level. What does this political change mean for institutions? There will be, we are assured, greater participation in political decision-making. If so, then the public will provide town halls and regional administrations with their input. How great this might be, however, remains to be seen.
The impact on political institutions, because of programmes of participation, has been the principal area of discussion, but what of another institution - the Catholic Church? It has hardly been mentioned, or hadn't been prior to the elections. It might be argued that this is because of its diminished role, but this diminution is greatly exaggerated. Sure there is greatly lower church attendance than was once the case. Certainly the church can no longer count on anything like majority support on issues such as abortion or homosexuality. But the church still plays a key role in society. Lower attendance at church does not mean that society has turned its back on Catholicism, and surveys prove the point; a majority of Spaniards still consider themselves to be Catholics.
This said, there is a great deal of difference between strict conservatism and secular Catholicism. The secular nature of society was emphasised in the Constitution which, at the same time, guaranteed religious freedoms, and secularism, whether the church likes it or not, is what now dominates society. It has been to the Partido Popular's great discredit that it has not appreciated this in its attempts to undo liberal advances, especially those of the Zapatero administration.
As new town hall regimes get their feet under the table, it has been instructive to note that in two cases - Alcúdia and Felanitx - one of the first priorities has to do with summer fiestas. In Alcúdia, the administration under the regionalist El Pi and PSOE socialists has the organisation of the imminent Sant Pere fiestas to concern it, but there is more to the fiestas than just the arrangements for the late-night parties or the kiddies' entertainment. There is religion as well; the fiestas are after all, though it might be forgotten, religious occasions.
Alcúdia's new mayor, Antoni Mir, has not expressly said anything about the relationship of the town hall with the local church, but the Felanitx mayor, Joan Xamena, most certainly has. A member of the Més Mallorcan socialists-nationalists, Xamena has been talking about the town's Sant Agustí fiestas. The town hall, which is now a pact of the Més Bloc, PSOE and El Pi, will not be attending any religious acts - processions or mass - during the fiestas. Felanitx town hall, he has made clear, is a secular administration.
The relationship between church and town hall is a curious one. Though religion itself may no longer dominate lives in towns and villages, the physical presence of the church does. There is and can be no avoiding the colossal nature of the church building. It is, therefore, right at the heart of communities, but to what extent is the parish church (and other churches) viewed as only an architectural treasure by these local communities? Secularism might suggest that this is how it is perceived, but I am not convinced that this is so.
There has long been a debate as to this relationship. One side of the argument, in keeping with what Felanitx's mayor has said, is that a town hall, as a secular authority, should not show any religious inclination, and constitutionally there is no reason why it should. A mayor and councillors swear allegiance to the statute of autonomy in the Balearics and to the king; not to the Catholic Church. Where there have been overt displays of participation in religious ceremonies by mayors, there have also been strong denunciations. This has been the case, for example, in Granada. By contrast and in other instances, for example in Valladolid, the mayor has established that councillors can attend ceremonies but only in a private capacity.
Participation in religious acts is not the only way in which relations can cause some controversy. There is also the tax status. Town halls have been eyeing up ways of extracting tax from which churches are generally exempt. If Spain, at its national election, were to move politically in the way that many municipalities have, there could be fundamental changes awaiting the Catholic Church. And in Mallorca it could face another one. The next president of the Council of Mallorca may well be from Més. He would also be the first gay man to be its president.
Showing posts with label Catholic Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic Church. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Masonry In Mallorca And Spain
In the mid-1990s, Ramon Viñals i Soler, a businessman and politician from Barcelona, was charged with the task of reviving masonry in the Balearics. Twenty years on from the death of Franco, masonry was still very much in the doldrums on the islands, and this despite the fact that it had briefly thrived in the years leading up to the Civil War. Whether it can be said that Viñals was successful is open to question. In March 2010, Mallorca was turned into the capital of Spanish masonry. The Grand Lodge of Spain made the Hotel Meliá Victoria in Palma its centre for the gathering to elect the new Grand Master; there was also voting in other parts of Spain. Some 300 votes were cast at the hotel, of which 253 were by members from the Balearics, which was a healthy proportion of the total number of masons - 400. However, fifteen years on from the start of the revival campaign, the number didn't really appear to have represented a great success.
At this year's assembly of the Grand Lodge in Madrid, Oscar de Alfonso Ortega was re-elected as Grand Master. He had one opponent: Ramon Viñals i Soler. 592 votes were cast. Alfonso secured 92% of the vote, an overwhelming majority which might have seemed odd.
Alfonso had been a surprise winner in 2010, dislodging (so to speak) the "official" candidate, José Carretero. It was said that his victory owed a great deal to support from British masons, of whom it was reckoned that they comprised roughly 50% of the voters. By the time of this year's vote, however, Alfonso's British support was believed to be in decline, while he had also lost favour among Spanish masons. This was because a Jesuit scholar had been invited to a masonic meeting and had been given an award by Alfonso; the Jesuits had once been to the fore in the persecution of masons. Alfonso had also publicly defended a drug-dealer who had been on a British list of the top ten most most-wanted criminals. Yet, when it came to the election, he came romping home.
So, how might this victory be explained? Viñals was and is, after all, a veteran mason, but his politics and his associations might well have let him down. His political career has been defined by his socialism and his republicanism. He is a supporter of Catalonian independence, but his interests stretch beyond Spain. To the Sudan, for instance. He has been a "goodwill ambassador" in Europe for Omar al-Bashir, the president of the Sudan, for whom there is an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Whatever the reasons for Alfonso's stunning re-election, it would seem that the upper echelons of the Grand Lodge have been tainted with controversy in the recent past, and, perhaps as a sign of a fierce rejection of Viñals, Alfonso's re-election led to a strong statement of loyalty to the King, the Crown and the Constitution being issued. Yet, despite Viñals' republican views, this political affiliation was responsible for what was the only short era when masonry assumed a position of some importance in the Balearics and in Spain.
The origins of the islands' masonry can be found in Menorca, the consequence of British influence on the island. As a movement it first surfaced in the 1830s, came to Mallorca briefly, disappeared, returned, entered a period of crisis in the late nineteenth century when it all but disappeared again, only for it to resurface during the Second Republic of the five years before the Civil War: over 80% of Republican deputies at the Cortes parliament were masons.
On 15 September 1936, so only weeks after the start of the war, freemasonry "and other clandestine activities" were declared illegal by Franco's Nationalist rebels. By 1938 there was a "Special Tribunal for the Repression of Masonry and Communism". With their deeply conservative Catholicism, the Nationalists and the Falange took their lead from the Church, which had been railing against masonry for decades. How many masons were executed or murdered is impossible to say. A list of 80,000 so-called masons was drawn up by Father Tusquets, the mason-witchfinder-general. There were in truth only around 5.000 masons in Spain at the time.
The regime left its legacy, and masonry remained dormant until Viñals sought to revive it. The number of masons in the Balearics may be low, but then there are reckoned to be fewer than 7,000 masons in Spain as a whole; England is said to have a quarter of a million. But maybe its popularity will grow. The Grand Lodge doesn't admit women, but the Symbolic Grand Lodge does; the Sapere Aude ("dare to know") lodge was established in Palma in February. Traditions hold though. Even Viñals, a more liberal mason, is against women joining the Grand Lodge.
At this year's assembly of the Grand Lodge in Madrid, Oscar de Alfonso Ortega was re-elected as Grand Master. He had one opponent: Ramon Viñals i Soler. 592 votes were cast. Alfonso secured 92% of the vote, an overwhelming majority which might have seemed odd.
Alfonso had been a surprise winner in 2010, dislodging (so to speak) the "official" candidate, José Carretero. It was said that his victory owed a great deal to support from British masons, of whom it was reckoned that they comprised roughly 50% of the voters. By the time of this year's vote, however, Alfonso's British support was believed to be in decline, while he had also lost favour among Spanish masons. This was because a Jesuit scholar had been invited to a masonic meeting and had been given an award by Alfonso; the Jesuits had once been to the fore in the persecution of masons. Alfonso had also publicly defended a drug-dealer who had been on a British list of the top ten most most-wanted criminals. Yet, when it came to the election, he came romping home.
So, how might this victory be explained? Viñals was and is, after all, a veteran mason, but his politics and his associations might well have let him down. His political career has been defined by his socialism and his republicanism. He is a supporter of Catalonian independence, but his interests stretch beyond Spain. To the Sudan, for instance. He has been a "goodwill ambassador" in Europe for Omar al-Bashir, the president of the Sudan, for whom there is an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Whatever the reasons for Alfonso's stunning re-election, it would seem that the upper echelons of the Grand Lodge have been tainted with controversy in the recent past, and, perhaps as a sign of a fierce rejection of Viñals, Alfonso's re-election led to a strong statement of loyalty to the King, the Crown and the Constitution being issued. Yet, despite Viñals' republican views, this political affiliation was responsible for what was the only short era when masonry assumed a position of some importance in the Balearics and in Spain.
The origins of the islands' masonry can be found in Menorca, the consequence of British influence on the island. As a movement it first surfaced in the 1830s, came to Mallorca briefly, disappeared, returned, entered a period of crisis in the late nineteenth century when it all but disappeared again, only for it to resurface during the Second Republic of the five years before the Civil War: over 80% of Republican deputies at the Cortes parliament were masons.
On 15 September 1936, so only weeks after the start of the war, freemasonry "and other clandestine activities" were declared illegal by Franco's Nationalist rebels. By 1938 there was a "Special Tribunal for the Repression of Masonry and Communism". With their deeply conservative Catholicism, the Nationalists and the Falange took their lead from the Church, which had been railing against masonry for decades. How many masons were executed or murdered is impossible to say. A list of 80,000 so-called masons was drawn up by Father Tusquets, the mason-witchfinder-general. There were in truth only around 5.000 masons in Spain at the time.
The regime left its legacy, and masonry remained dormant until Viñals sought to revive it. The number of masons in the Balearics may be low, but then there are reckoned to be fewer than 7,000 masons in Spain as a whole; England is said to have a quarter of a million. But maybe its popularity will grow. The Grand Lodge doesn't admit women, but the Symbolic Grand Lodge does; the Sapere Aude ("dare to know") lodge was established in Palma in February. Traditions hold though. Even Viñals, a more liberal mason, is against women joining the Grand Lodge.
Saturday, January 04, 2014
Society In Reverse: Spain's abortion reform
Strip away the religion and abortion remains an issue of morality and ethics. No one, or at least I assume no one, can ever suggest that it is an easy issue. It is not an issue which requires either men of religion (and it is of course men) or politicians to present the moral dilemma. But retain the religion and the issue is one of circumscribed moralism, of doctrinaire prescriptiveness that asserts the self-proclaimed moral authority of religion to dictate to secular society how it should think and behave. In addition, this religious assertiveness is embraced by zealous politicians eager to be bedfellows (no condoms allowed) in issuing dogma of scriptural correctness.
The reform of Spanish abortion law is the reaffirmation of the political-religious alliance of years past. It is regressive, a legislative move out of step with a changed society, which had been - the female members of it in particular - granted a greater liberalism in tune with progressive instincts of a modern Spain. But though religious doctrine is the philosophical basis for this reform, political dogma has provided the impetus. This is a reform which highlights the political divide in Spain, undoing as it does the relaxations on abortion introduced by the previous socialist government which operated according to its own dogma, one which was avowedly anti-clerical. It is a reform about the Catholic right-wing imposing its authority, regardless of changes that have occurred in society and regardless of medical opinion.
It was known that the Partido Popular government would enact the reform. It had after all filed actions against the Zapatero government's 2010 law, the one which had finally brought Spain more into line with much of Europe and which was viewed with horror by the Catholic Church, fearful of even more of its power evaporating. By removing the possibility of free choice to abort up to fourteen weeks, it is a reform which is more restrictive than that which had been in place before 2010. The Church may look upon it with delight, while the horror is on the faces of women, many health professionals and many in society who had believed that Spain had indeed thrown off the shackles of Catholic conservatism.
In theory, there could yet be amendments to the abortion bill, but in practice they are unlikely. Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón has ruled them out. However, he may just be moved to think again. Regional PP presidents - in Extremadura and Galicia - are among members of the PP who believe the reform goes too far.
These presidents, as well as city mayors, will be only too well aware of the potential damage that the reform could have. While the government has grappled with attempting to turn the economy around - its foremost concern - it has managed to undermine support for its austerity by engaging in legislation which casts it in a reactionary mould. To limits on protests can now be added abortion. The usual classification of the PP as "centre-right" (a questionable classification at the best of times) has been shown to be erroneous. This is a right-wing government and party, one that is displaying its historical roots. Regional presidents and mayors have every reason to be concerned that electorates will make them suffer.
Governments don't of course concentrate on single issues such as the economy. It is why they are governments. But there are times, and these are such times, when meddling in other issues appears counterproductive. It was Lord Palmerston who declared that "the function of government is to calm rather than to excite agitation." It is a reasonable maxim, but governments pay it little heed. Why enact something which will only serve to agitate an already agitated society?
In much the same way, the Balearic Government has been doing something similar with its law of symbols. It is a very different issue to abortion, granted, but would it not be a sign of wisdom to leave alone a matter which can only foment more agitation? In some respects, the attack on symbols, i.e. the Catalan flag, is far less wise than the national government's abortion reform, as it is a case of tilting at windmills. The Catalanist enemy within, if it exists, sits in a corner of Balearics society being paid little attention to. President Bauzá only succeeds in drawing the enemy into the centre of the room, all the time threatening his position and his attempts to take society with him along the course of righting economic woes.
There is a point at which political dogma and its consequent legislation become expressions of fanaticism. Abortion is most definitely not an easy issue. It is one for which there is arguably no right, only a wrong. So it becomes a question of the scale of the wrong and what drives it. When fanaticism takes the wheel and places society into reverse, only a wrong turn can be made.
The reform of Spanish abortion law is the reaffirmation of the political-religious alliance of years past. It is regressive, a legislative move out of step with a changed society, which had been - the female members of it in particular - granted a greater liberalism in tune with progressive instincts of a modern Spain. But though religious doctrine is the philosophical basis for this reform, political dogma has provided the impetus. This is a reform which highlights the political divide in Spain, undoing as it does the relaxations on abortion introduced by the previous socialist government which operated according to its own dogma, one which was avowedly anti-clerical. It is a reform about the Catholic right-wing imposing its authority, regardless of changes that have occurred in society and regardless of medical opinion.
It was known that the Partido Popular government would enact the reform. It had after all filed actions against the Zapatero government's 2010 law, the one which had finally brought Spain more into line with much of Europe and which was viewed with horror by the Catholic Church, fearful of even more of its power evaporating. By removing the possibility of free choice to abort up to fourteen weeks, it is a reform which is more restrictive than that which had been in place before 2010. The Church may look upon it with delight, while the horror is on the faces of women, many health professionals and many in society who had believed that Spain had indeed thrown off the shackles of Catholic conservatism.
In theory, there could yet be amendments to the abortion bill, but in practice they are unlikely. Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón has ruled them out. However, he may just be moved to think again. Regional PP presidents - in Extremadura and Galicia - are among members of the PP who believe the reform goes too far.
These presidents, as well as city mayors, will be only too well aware of the potential damage that the reform could have. While the government has grappled with attempting to turn the economy around - its foremost concern - it has managed to undermine support for its austerity by engaging in legislation which casts it in a reactionary mould. To limits on protests can now be added abortion. The usual classification of the PP as "centre-right" (a questionable classification at the best of times) has been shown to be erroneous. This is a right-wing government and party, one that is displaying its historical roots. Regional presidents and mayors have every reason to be concerned that electorates will make them suffer.
Governments don't of course concentrate on single issues such as the economy. It is why they are governments. But there are times, and these are such times, when meddling in other issues appears counterproductive. It was Lord Palmerston who declared that "the function of government is to calm rather than to excite agitation." It is a reasonable maxim, but governments pay it little heed. Why enact something which will only serve to agitate an already agitated society?
In much the same way, the Balearic Government has been doing something similar with its law of symbols. It is a very different issue to abortion, granted, but would it not be a sign of wisdom to leave alone a matter which can only foment more agitation? In some respects, the attack on symbols, i.e. the Catalan flag, is far less wise than the national government's abortion reform, as it is a case of tilting at windmills. The Catalanist enemy within, if it exists, sits in a corner of Balearics society being paid little attention to. President Bauzá only succeeds in drawing the enemy into the centre of the room, all the time threatening his position and his attempts to take society with him along the course of righting economic woes.
There is a point at which political dogma and its consequent legislation become expressions of fanaticism. Abortion is most definitely not an easy issue. It is one for which there is arguably no right, only a wrong. So it becomes a question of the scale of the wrong and what drives it. When fanaticism takes the wheel and places society into reverse, only a wrong turn can be made.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Re-writing Religion: Spain's education act
In my second year at grammar school, my class was set an R.E. homework assignment to write a nativity play. My best friend Derek and myself were both heavily influenced at that time by the "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again" radio show. Under the influence of Cleese, Garden, Oddie and Brooke-Taylor, we thought it would be highly amusing were we to write our plays in the style of ISIRTA. How wrong we were. The R.E. teacher, a Miss Phillipson, was scandalised. My effort was slightly less offensive than Derek's and so I was given the opportunity to re-write it "properly" and received a grudging six out of ten for the revised play. Derek was less fortunate. He had to re-do his in the knowledge that he was going to get nul points come what may.
When it came to choosing our O Level subjects later that school year, it was little surprise that R.E. didn't loom large among our priorities. Indeed, I don't recall it having loomed large among anyone's priorities. Like Latin, it was a subject which, as soon as the opportunity arose to shape one's own personal curriculum, was dropped with the full force and weight of several copies of the Authorised Version being hurled from the top of the science block onto the school playground.
Which, with the value of hindsight normally denied to thirteen-year-olds, was probably a mistake. Latin, one came to appreciate, would have been of value. R.E. would have been, too, in that religious studies in their broadest sense are of value in appreciating fundamentals of cultures and societies (and one uses "fundamental" advisedly in the context of religions).
The greatest mistake lay in believing that one had to be a believer in order to study religion. Not so. Indeed, it might be argued that it is preferable if one isn't a believer. Through not adhering to any particular religious dogma, there may be a chance of increased objectivity prevailing. But what thirteen-year-old is going to now buy into such an explanation or would have bought into such an explanation a few decades ago?
The trouble is that, regardless of whatever broader historical, sociological and cultural aspects are contained in a religious studies curriculum (assuming there are any), as a subject it is perceived as representative of one thing and one thing alone - the established church. For schoolchildren, the church simply isn't cool or relevant. It is something to be rejected.
The Spanish have been losing their religion dramatically over the past 20 years or so, and Spanish youth have been losing it more dramatically than any other age group. This is natural enough, given youthful rebellion, but the taking of religious studies by high-school pupils has slumped to such a level that only roughly a quarter now opt for it.
Faced with this declining interest, the Spanish Government's education reform is to give greater emphasis to religious studies. It will, under the system that the revised education bill sets out, count to the same extent that maths or a language course will. Wert's Law, named after the education minister José Ignacio Wert, will give as much worth and as much weight to religion as it does to English. And there are an awful lot of people who aren't happy that it will. A poll has found that even a majority of practising Catholics disagree with this emphasis on religious studies. The widely held view is that it is a measure designed to serve one purpose - a politico-religious one in cementing the alliance between the Church and the Partido Popular and in advancing the cause of societal conservatism.
However much some would argue, and I would count myself among them, that religious studies, so long as they are broad-based, are of educative value, to place religious instruction on a par with languages, maths, science and technology is an utter nonsense. By doing so, the impression is given of subject choice being somehow bought. And for a country that badly needs to sharpen up its educational act, so to speak, and to encourage innovation, development and entrepreneurship, such an emphasis on religion appears almost perverse. It is a subject worthy of study but it ain't going to improve the country's economic performance.
It is even more perverse that the Partido Popular, perceived as the party that is the friend of business and industry, should seek to establish such an educational measure. It can only be explained, therefore, on the grounds of dogma - the religious dogma of Catholic conservatism, one that many had thought had been consigned to history.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
When it came to choosing our O Level subjects later that school year, it was little surprise that R.E. didn't loom large among our priorities. Indeed, I don't recall it having loomed large among anyone's priorities. Like Latin, it was a subject which, as soon as the opportunity arose to shape one's own personal curriculum, was dropped with the full force and weight of several copies of the Authorised Version being hurled from the top of the science block onto the school playground.
Which, with the value of hindsight normally denied to thirteen-year-olds, was probably a mistake. Latin, one came to appreciate, would have been of value. R.E. would have been, too, in that religious studies in their broadest sense are of value in appreciating fundamentals of cultures and societies (and one uses "fundamental" advisedly in the context of religions).
The greatest mistake lay in believing that one had to be a believer in order to study religion. Not so. Indeed, it might be argued that it is preferable if one isn't a believer. Through not adhering to any particular religious dogma, there may be a chance of increased objectivity prevailing. But what thirteen-year-old is going to now buy into such an explanation or would have bought into such an explanation a few decades ago?
The trouble is that, regardless of whatever broader historical, sociological and cultural aspects are contained in a religious studies curriculum (assuming there are any), as a subject it is perceived as representative of one thing and one thing alone - the established church. For schoolchildren, the church simply isn't cool or relevant. It is something to be rejected.
The Spanish have been losing their religion dramatically over the past 20 years or so, and Spanish youth have been losing it more dramatically than any other age group. This is natural enough, given youthful rebellion, but the taking of religious studies by high-school pupils has slumped to such a level that only roughly a quarter now opt for it.
Faced with this declining interest, the Spanish Government's education reform is to give greater emphasis to religious studies. It will, under the system that the revised education bill sets out, count to the same extent that maths or a language course will. Wert's Law, named after the education minister José Ignacio Wert, will give as much worth and as much weight to religion as it does to English. And there are an awful lot of people who aren't happy that it will. A poll has found that even a majority of practising Catholics disagree with this emphasis on religious studies. The widely held view is that it is a measure designed to serve one purpose - a politico-religious one in cementing the alliance between the Church and the Partido Popular and in advancing the cause of societal conservatism.
However much some would argue, and I would count myself among them, that religious studies, so long as they are broad-based, are of educative value, to place religious instruction on a par with languages, maths, science and technology is an utter nonsense. By doing so, the impression is given of subject choice being somehow bought. And for a country that badly needs to sharpen up its educational act, so to speak, and to encourage innovation, development and entrepreneurship, such an emphasis on religion appears almost perverse. It is a subject worthy of study but it ain't going to improve the country's economic performance.
It is even more perverse that the Partido Popular, perceived as the party that is the friend of business and industry, should seek to establish such an educational measure. It can only be explained, therefore, on the grounds of dogma - the religious dogma of Catholic conservatism, one that many had thought had been consigned to history.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Losing And Finding Their Religion
Should it come as any great surprise that the youth in the Balearics are less religious than their parents or grandparents? It would surely be a surprise if they were more religious. How much can one read into the fact that a Gadeso survey has revealed that half of those aged between 16 and 29 say they don't believe in any religion and that almost 80% of Catholics between these ages admit they don't practise the religion? This compares with 70% of 30 to 44 year-olds who reckon that they are believers or 91% of the over-65s.
The Gadeso survey discovers, again no surprise, that 90% of the youthful sector favour abortion and that the percentages are lower among the older groups. There is almost unanimous agreement among the young that the system of financing of the Catholic Church, one that the last Zapatero government was going to get tough on but backed down on, is wrong. The oldsters think it is ok, though only by a small majority.
Youthful rebellion and all that, but is there more to this apparent irreligiousness than simply refusing to go to church or to the fact, as was shown in 2010, that the numbers who take religious education in secondary schools has declined significantly - a mere 15%?
Doubtless there will be hand wringing and head shaking by church supporters at what will be perceived as a moral and religious decline among the youth. It will be interpreted as a manifestation of the corrupting influence of secularism, and there will probably be some fundamentalists who try and twist the government's arm into introducing laws to herd the young into church on a Sunday morning. But they would of course be totally wrong to try and do so. I have no disagreement with those who are religious and no desire to cause any offence, but a personal conviction of deep irreligiousness places me firmly on the side of the Balearics youth.
This religious rejection comes against the background of the election of the new pope, coverage of which seemed to be just as obligatory in non-Catholic Britain as it was in Spain. Quite why an ancient Argentinian who has landed himself a decent sinecure in his old age should command so many column inches or so many TV images is beyond me. Incidentally, does anyone know how much the pope earns? Again, no disrespect meant, but why was the coverage so important other than for highlighting the various issues that Pope Francis should be tackling, like making the church rather more in tune with the twenty-first century, or the twentieth, come to that?
You may construe from all this that I don't have a great deal of time for the church. In fact, I do. For some of it what it does, notably its charity work. Caritas is a noble and honourable organisation. It, along with the Spanish Red Cross, does vastly more than the government does to help the disadvantaged. I have all the time in the world for it. And it no doubt is of help to the disadvantaged young that are being tossed onto the economic rubbish dump. If Caritas benefits from the church's state funding or from the very small percentage of tax on incomes (0.7%) that taxpayers have opted to divert directly to the church's charitable works, then so be it.
I am also not totally against the favourable tax arrangements that the church has, as in it tends not to pay any property taxes when the earthly do. But so long as it is clear that this is a tax advantage that goes towards the upkeep of wonderful churches that demand being preserved as part of cultural heritage. That the church has proved to be obstructive in entering into discussions with the government over its paying at least some more tax does it no great favours. As Spain's second largest landowner, it's not exactly short of a bob or two.
But to come back to the youth and their religious beliefs or lack of them, the latest survey shows little change to one that was conducted in 2010. When there is another one in 2016, the result will probably be roughly the same again. It is a natural youth thing, one that is subject to changing; there are no doubt some potential career-advancement opportunities by being associated with the church as they get older. What the survey shows, in all likelihood, is a pretty much normal situation. The youth can lose their religion when they are young, but when it becomes useful, they can just as easily find it again.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The Gadeso survey discovers, again no surprise, that 90% of the youthful sector favour abortion and that the percentages are lower among the older groups. There is almost unanimous agreement among the young that the system of financing of the Catholic Church, one that the last Zapatero government was going to get tough on but backed down on, is wrong. The oldsters think it is ok, though only by a small majority.
Youthful rebellion and all that, but is there more to this apparent irreligiousness than simply refusing to go to church or to the fact, as was shown in 2010, that the numbers who take religious education in secondary schools has declined significantly - a mere 15%?
Doubtless there will be hand wringing and head shaking by church supporters at what will be perceived as a moral and religious decline among the youth. It will be interpreted as a manifestation of the corrupting influence of secularism, and there will probably be some fundamentalists who try and twist the government's arm into introducing laws to herd the young into church on a Sunday morning. But they would of course be totally wrong to try and do so. I have no disagreement with those who are religious and no desire to cause any offence, but a personal conviction of deep irreligiousness places me firmly on the side of the Balearics youth.
This religious rejection comes against the background of the election of the new pope, coverage of which seemed to be just as obligatory in non-Catholic Britain as it was in Spain. Quite why an ancient Argentinian who has landed himself a decent sinecure in his old age should command so many column inches or so many TV images is beyond me. Incidentally, does anyone know how much the pope earns? Again, no disrespect meant, but why was the coverage so important other than for highlighting the various issues that Pope Francis should be tackling, like making the church rather more in tune with the twenty-first century, or the twentieth, come to that?
You may construe from all this that I don't have a great deal of time for the church. In fact, I do. For some of it what it does, notably its charity work. Caritas is a noble and honourable organisation. It, along with the Spanish Red Cross, does vastly more than the government does to help the disadvantaged. I have all the time in the world for it. And it no doubt is of help to the disadvantaged young that are being tossed onto the economic rubbish dump. If Caritas benefits from the church's state funding or from the very small percentage of tax on incomes (0.7%) that taxpayers have opted to divert directly to the church's charitable works, then so be it.
I am also not totally against the favourable tax arrangements that the church has, as in it tends not to pay any property taxes when the earthly do. But so long as it is clear that this is a tax advantage that goes towards the upkeep of wonderful churches that demand being preserved as part of cultural heritage. That the church has proved to be obstructive in entering into discussions with the government over its paying at least some more tax does it no great favours. As Spain's second largest landowner, it's not exactly short of a bob or two.
But to come back to the youth and their religious beliefs or lack of them, the latest survey shows little change to one that was conducted in 2010. When there is another one in 2016, the result will probably be roughly the same again. It is a natural youth thing, one that is subject to changing; there are no doubt some potential career-advancement opportunities by being associated with the church as they get older. What the survey shows, in all likelihood, is a pretty much normal situation. The youth can lose their religion when they are young, but when it becomes useful, they can just as easily find it again.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Communicative: The new bishop of Mallorca
Xavier Salinas is the new Bishop of Mallorca. His appointment will be one that will be of little or no consequence to the overwhelming majority of expatriates on the island, but his is an appointment that is not without importance.
Salinas replaces Jesús Murgui, a bishop who lacked communicative skills to the extent that he never gave a single interview during the eight years of his tenure. He was excused on the grounds of shyness, but communication, be it with churchgoers or the media, comes with the territory. Or it should do. As a consequence of his reticence, Monseñor Murgui was unpopular with the media, and as a further consequence, the media was only too happy to portray him as having been unpopular with his own priests. He was also portrayed, with perhaps greater justification, as one couldn't be entirely sure what his priests really thought of him, as having been firmly on the conservative and reactionary wing of the Catholic Church.
Monseñor Salinas is a breath of fresh air. He is communicative. He has already given interviews and has said that it is important for there to be a dialogue with society. He has spoken about the difficulties that confront society at the present time and, though he has said that it is not his or the Church's intention to be involved in politics, he has given a clear enough signal that he supports Catalan; it is his native tongue, in that he is from Valencia and so speaks the Valencian brand of Catalan.
While Salinas may suggest that the Church doesn't wish to involve itself in politics, the fact is that the Church does just that. Bishop Murgui, without naming names, did so prior to the last national election with his letter regarding the danger of voting for politicians who supported gay marriage, which could easily have been interpreted as having given the thumbs-up to the Partido Popular. Which is of course exactly how it was interpreted.
Declining church attendance has not necessarily been an indication that society is losing its religion, but it can be seen as a turning away from the institution of the Church. Whenever I have spoken to Mallorcans or Spaniards about the Church, the reaction has often been the same. It is one either of contempt or of a shrug of resignation. The Church is lumped in with politicians in being viewed with suspicion or a lack of trust.
There is a difference between having the faith and having faith in the institution which dispenses it, and the fall in attendance in recent times may well be the result of society finally accepting that it doesn't have to be seen to be attending something to which there has been ambivalence for far longer. It may also be the result of the Church being out of step with changes in society's attitudes. While senior figures in the Church might hope for a return to more reactionary attitudes, their wish is unlikely to be granted. The politicians are nibbling at the edges of these attitudes, as with backtracking on advances made under Zapatero with regard to abortion for instance, but the Partido Popular is in danger of being cast in the same light as the Church - out of step.
Rather like the PP is, perhaps deliberately, focusing on issues that might be better left alone, so the Church's hierarchy would be advised to do likewise. It has a role, a very positive role to play during the times of crisis, a role no better demonstrated than through the sterling efforts of its Caritas charitable arm - so badly needed in a country that cannot and shows little desire to look after its people adequately - and its pastoral function is one that it should concentrate on. Instead, it has found itself embroiled in political matters and in controversies over its finances, one of the more spectacular being its stubborn refusal to pay property tax, an arguably scandalous betrayal of society when society is being hit so hard by all sorts of taxes.
Against this background, the more sympathetic figure of Monseñor Salinas is to be welcomed. If he proves to be, as he has already hinted that he will be, a far more accessible voice in local society, and one of sensitivity to the various difficulties Mallorca faces, then he is likely to turn out to be a popular appointment. But popular or not, just how relevant he is to the majority of Mallorcans, let alone foreigners, is another matter.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Salinas replaces Jesús Murgui, a bishop who lacked communicative skills to the extent that he never gave a single interview during the eight years of his tenure. He was excused on the grounds of shyness, but communication, be it with churchgoers or the media, comes with the territory. Or it should do. As a consequence of his reticence, Monseñor Murgui was unpopular with the media, and as a further consequence, the media was only too happy to portray him as having been unpopular with his own priests. He was also portrayed, with perhaps greater justification, as one couldn't be entirely sure what his priests really thought of him, as having been firmly on the conservative and reactionary wing of the Catholic Church.
Monseñor Salinas is a breath of fresh air. He is communicative. He has already given interviews and has said that it is important for there to be a dialogue with society. He has spoken about the difficulties that confront society at the present time and, though he has said that it is not his or the Church's intention to be involved in politics, he has given a clear enough signal that he supports Catalan; it is his native tongue, in that he is from Valencia and so speaks the Valencian brand of Catalan.
While Salinas may suggest that the Church doesn't wish to involve itself in politics, the fact is that the Church does just that. Bishop Murgui, without naming names, did so prior to the last national election with his letter regarding the danger of voting for politicians who supported gay marriage, which could easily have been interpreted as having given the thumbs-up to the Partido Popular. Which is of course exactly how it was interpreted.
Declining church attendance has not necessarily been an indication that society is losing its religion, but it can be seen as a turning away from the institution of the Church. Whenever I have spoken to Mallorcans or Spaniards about the Church, the reaction has often been the same. It is one either of contempt or of a shrug of resignation. The Church is lumped in with politicians in being viewed with suspicion or a lack of trust.
There is a difference between having the faith and having faith in the institution which dispenses it, and the fall in attendance in recent times may well be the result of society finally accepting that it doesn't have to be seen to be attending something to which there has been ambivalence for far longer. It may also be the result of the Church being out of step with changes in society's attitudes. While senior figures in the Church might hope for a return to more reactionary attitudes, their wish is unlikely to be granted. The politicians are nibbling at the edges of these attitudes, as with backtracking on advances made under Zapatero with regard to abortion for instance, but the Partido Popular is in danger of being cast in the same light as the Church - out of step.
Rather like the PP is, perhaps deliberately, focusing on issues that might be better left alone, so the Church's hierarchy would be advised to do likewise. It has a role, a very positive role to play during the times of crisis, a role no better demonstrated than through the sterling efforts of its Caritas charitable arm - so badly needed in a country that cannot and shows little desire to look after its people adequately - and its pastoral function is one that it should concentrate on. Instead, it has found itself embroiled in political matters and in controversies over its finances, one of the more spectacular being its stubborn refusal to pay property tax, an arguably scandalous betrayal of society when society is being hit so hard by all sorts of taxes.
Against this background, the more sympathetic figure of Monseñor Salinas is to be welcomed. If he proves to be, as he has already hinted that he will be, a far more accessible voice in local society, and one of sensitivity to the various difficulties Mallorca faces, then he is likely to turn out to be a popular appointment. But popular or not, just how relevant he is to the majority of Mallorcans, let alone foreigners, is another matter.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Property For Free: Taxing the church
Who is the largest landowner in Spain? The answer is not a who but a what. It is the Catholic church.
Knowing exactly how much property holding the church has and how much it is worth is not only difficult, it is virtually impossible. An estimate that has been placed on the value to the Spanish church is, in total, 158 billion US dollars, of which 16 billion are "visible", the rest being in networks of trusts and companies.
This estimate comes from a source which is a vehement critic of the church, both in Spain and elsewhere, so it has to be treated with a good deal of caution (and indeed scepticism). Whatever the real value (and another estimate puts it at around seven billion euros, so quite a difference), there is no doubting that in property terms (and others) the church is extremely wealthy. And under an agreement drawn up in 1979, it doesn't pay property tax.
Just think about this for a moment. Apart from the fact that the largest landowner is exempt from tax, whereas private individuals and businesses are all meant to pay it, if the church were to pay the tax, a not insignificant hole in the nation's finances might well be filled. How big the hole might be, who can tell? But big enough, you would imagine.
It is easy perhaps to look at a figure such as the one above and be either amazed or outraged by the scale of the holdings and by the exemption, but one has to take into account what some of the church's property is: magnificent churches and their works of art, part of the national heritage and which require an awful lot of looking after.
On these grounds, the exemption is partially justifiable, but whether complete exemption is justified, is a different matter, especially at a time of such economic hardship. And there are plenty of local authorities which are wondering just this and which are trying to figure out ways of getting a piece of the church's property action.
Two cities, Valladolid and León, are examining what they might be able to tax, while another, Zamora, is going to charge church-owned buildings for rubbish collection. These cities are following a lead set by the government in Italy where the church is also exempt from property tax. The Monti administration has announced that tax will be paid on any property that doesn't have a totally religious function; the estimated tax bill is 720 million euros on holdings of some nine billion euros.
There may be a benefit in having a politically non-aligned technocrat as prime minister. Monti is not beholden to anyone or any organisation. The same, however, cannot be said for the Spanish prime minister.
The Partido Popular came to power with the implicit (almost explicit) support of the church. For its government to now turn round and slap a property tax bill on the church is pretty much unthinkable, and were it to be even thinking of doing so, the church has been digging its heels in and rejecting any such notion.
One local authority which isn't contemplating seeking a means of taxing the church is that of Madrid. Its mayor, Ana Botella, has dismissed the idea. There again, Madrid is home to the most powerful of Spain's cardinals, while it might be remembered who Sra. Botella is: the wife of former prime minister José María Aznar, a former Partido Popular prime minister.
The church does play and is playing a significant role in providing assistance to those worst affected by economic crisis. The demands made on the Caritas charity have grown greatly, and the church's charitable work should not be underestimated in a country where there isn't the level of social benefit elsewhere. This is a further reason perhaps for looking charitably on the church and how it is taxed, or not.
But with austerity, to which one might add a tendency to greater transparency (as with the King declaring his income), the church would score enormous numbers of PR brownie points if it were to suggest that it would contribute some property tax. It's not as though it is in penury, unlike many of its flock. Not when it can count on 250 million euros a year raised from contributions through the income tax system.
It's unlikely, though, to volunteer to start paying property tax, just as it is unlikely that prime minister Rajoy will come with a tax demand. Perhaps Spain really does need the full Monti.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Knowing exactly how much property holding the church has and how much it is worth is not only difficult, it is virtually impossible. An estimate that has been placed on the value to the Spanish church is, in total, 158 billion US dollars, of which 16 billion are "visible", the rest being in networks of trusts and companies.
This estimate comes from a source which is a vehement critic of the church, both in Spain and elsewhere, so it has to be treated with a good deal of caution (and indeed scepticism). Whatever the real value (and another estimate puts it at around seven billion euros, so quite a difference), there is no doubting that in property terms (and others) the church is extremely wealthy. And under an agreement drawn up in 1979, it doesn't pay property tax.
Just think about this for a moment. Apart from the fact that the largest landowner is exempt from tax, whereas private individuals and businesses are all meant to pay it, if the church were to pay the tax, a not insignificant hole in the nation's finances might well be filled. How big the hole might be, who can tell? But big enough, you would imagine.
It is easy perhaps to look at a figure such as the one above and be either amazed or outraged by the scale of the holdings and by the exemption, but one has to take into account what some of the church's property is: magnificent churches and their works of art, part of the national heritage and which require an awful lot of looking after.
On these grounds, the exemption is partially justifiable, but whether complete exemption is justified, is a different matter, especially at a time of such economic hardship. And there are plenty of local authorities which are wondering just this and which are trying to figure out ways of getting a piece of the church's property action.
Two cities, Valladolid and León, are examining what they might be able to tax, while another, Zamora, is going to charge church-owned buildings for rubbish collection. These cities are following a lead set by the government in Italy where the church is also exempt from property tax. The Monti administration has announced that tax will be paid on any property that doesn't have a totally religious function; the estimated tax bill is 720 million euros on holdings of some nine billion euros.
There may be a benefit in having a politically non-aligned technocrat as prime minister. Monti is not beholden to anyone or any organisation. The same, however, cannot be said for the Spanish prime minister.
The Partido Popular came to power with the implicit (almost explicit) support of the church. For its government to now turn round and slap a property tax bill on the church is pretty much unthinkable, and were it to be even thinking of doing so, the church has been digging its heels in and rejecting any such notion.
One local authority which isn't contemplating seeking a means of taxing the church is that of Madrid. Its mayor, Ana Botella, has dismissed the idea. There again, Madrid is home to the most powerful of Spain's cardinals, while it might be remembered who Sra. Botella is: the wife of former prime minister José María Aznar, a former Partido Popular prime minister.
The church does play and is playing a significant role in providing assistance to those worst affected by economic crisis. The demands made on the Caritas charity have grown greatly, and the church's charitable work should not be underestimated in a country where there isn't the level of social benefit elsewhere. This is a further reason perhaps for looking charitably on the church and how it is taxed, or not.
But with austerity, to which one might add a tendency to greater transparency (as with the King declaring his income), the church would score enormous numbers of PR brownie points if it were to suggest that it would contribute some property tax. It's not as though it is in penury, unlike many of its flock. Not when it can count on 250 million euros a year raised from contributions through the income tax system.
It's unlikely, though, to volunteer to start paying property tax, just as it is unlikely that prime minister Rajoy will come with a tax demand. Perhaps Spain really does need the full Monti.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
In The Pink: Catholic Church and the PP
Were you aware that in twenty years time half the world's population will be homosexual? This won't be as a consequence of some type of gender modification technique, but as a consequence of a programme set out by the United Nations.
Have I gone mad? No, not me, but the Bishop of Córdoba and Cardinal Antonelli of the Papal Government. In all seriousness, it would appear, the Cardinal has been telling the Bishop that UNESCO has a programme of ideology that will turn 50% of the world gay.
The claim would be hilarious (well, it is hilarious) if it weren't for the fact that the Catholic Church, or at least parts of it, seems to believe this nonsense. The Church has been fighting a losing battle in Spain and its best response is to parrot some complete drivel that the Vatican has dreamt up.
The wholesale global pinking that the UN allegedly has in mind is social-engineering manna from heaven for the Spanish Church as it eyes up its opportunity to reclaim territory lost during the Zapatero administration. With that nice conservative, Sr. Rajoy, now in charge, the Spanish Cardinals will be hoping for a return to the good old days of religious orthodoxy.
Spearheading the campaign is the tough guy of the Spanish Church, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, and president of the Episcopal Conference. During his year-end address he laid into the previous government and called on the new one to repeal the socially liberal legislation that Zapatero had presided over.
Zapatero and the Archbishop were not exactly on the best of terms. The former prime minister was the devil incarnate where the Archbishop was concerned, liberalising abortion, permitting same-sex marriage, all the sorts of things designed to bring Spanish and Western Christian civilisation crashing down.
Prior to the election in 2008, the Archbishop and the Church had gone into full propaganda mode on behalf of the Partido Popular. Not that the party was named specifically, but there was no doubt as to where the Church's sympathies didn't lie. Arguably though, the Church's intervention then didn't help the PP, indeed it may well have helped the PP to lose some support, while a similar pro-PP line before the 2011 election was wholly unnecessary given that the election was about one issue and one issue alone - the economy - and that the PP was bound to win in any event.
With the PP restored, the Church now has its opportunity, and the question is to what extent the Rajoy government will backtrack on Zapatero's liberal agenda. Rajoy is, as Rajoy has so far proven to be very adept at, singularly vague as to what he might propose. He has said that there will be a change to the abortion law that the Zapatero administration had brought into line with most of Europe, but he hasn't been specific.
Rajoy himself is cast as a moderate, but rather like a Conservative government in the UK has to bend to the right on the Europe issue, so the PP has its archly conservative element when it comes to socio-religious matters. The "theocons*" of the PP, as they have been described, are likely to bring pressure on Rajoy to undo pretty much everything that Zapatero did, and the Church will be there, egging them on, content in the knowledge that the Vatican, as has historically been the case, sees Spain as the great upholder of Catholicism.
The bizarre beliefs of the Bishop of Córdoba and Cardinal Antonelli are just a part of how the Church would now like the government to be thinking. They are so preposterous that one would hope that a sensible chap such as Rajoy can see through them. The trouble is, though, that Rajoy has not always been particularly sensible. He is, after all, the politician who said that there was no evidence as to global warming because his cousin had told him there wasn't. To base a case on one person's word (who, it just so happens, is related to you) is not really a trait one would hope for in a politician.
The Archbishop, who one could somehow imagine being played by Robert de Niro, as he looks as though he has stepped out of some of de Niro's flims, represents a still powerful force in the land despite it having lost support in recent years. The Church is desperate to reclaim that power and the theocons in the PP could well enable it to.
* "Theocons" was a term first coined by the newspaper "El País".
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Have I gone mad? No, not me, but the Bishop of Córdoba and Cardinal Antonelli of the Papal Government. In all seriousness, it would appear, the Cardinal has been telling the Bishop that UNESCO has a programme of ideology that will turn 50% of the world gay.
The claim would be hilarious (well, it is hilarious) if it weren't for the fact that the Catholic Church, or at least parts of it, seems to believe this nonsense. The Church has been fighting a losing battle in Spain and its best response is to parrot some complete drivel that the Vatican has dreamt up.
The wholesale global pinking that the UN allegedly has in mind is social-engineering manna from heaven for the Spanish Church as it eyes up its opportunity to reclaim territory lost during the Zapatero administration. With that nice conservative, Sr. Rajoy, now in charge, the Spanish Cardinals will be hoping for a return to the good old days of religious orthodoxy.
Spearheading the campaign is the tough guy of the Spanish Church, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, and president of the Episcopal Conference. During his year-end address he laid into the previous government and called on the new one to repeal the socially liberal legislation that Zapatero had presided over.
Zapatero and the Archbishop were not exactly on the best of terms. The former prime minister was the devil incarnate where the Archbishop was concerned, liberalising abortion, permitting same-sex marriage, all the sorts of things designed to bring Spanish and Western Christian civilisation crashing down.
Prior to the election in 2008, the Archbishop and the Church had gone into full propaganda mode on behalf of the Partido Popular. Not that the party was named specifically, but there was no doubt as to where the Church's sympathies didn't lie. Arguably though, the Church's intervention then didn't help the PP, indeed it may well have helped the PP to lose some support, while a similar pro-PP line before the 2011 election was wholly unnecessary given that the election was about one issue and one issue alone - the economy - and that the PP was bound to win in any event.
With the PP restored, the Church now has its opportunity, and the question is to what extent the Rajoy government will backtrack on Zapatero's liberal agenda. Rajoy is, as Rajoy has so far proven to be very adept at, singularly vague as to what he might propose. He has said that there will be a change to the abortion law that the Zapatero administration had brought into line with most of Europe, but he hasn't been specific.
Rajoy himself is cast as a moderate, but rather like a Conservative government in the UK has to bend to the right on the Europe issue, so the PP has its archly conservative element when it comes to socio-religious matters. The "theocons*" of the PP, as they have been described, are likely to bring pressure on Rajoy to undo pretty much everything that Zapatero did, and the Church will be there, egging them on, content in the knowledge that the Vatican, as has historically been the case, sees Spain as the great upholder of Catholicism.
The bizarre beliefs of the Bishop of Córdoba and Cardinal Antonelli are just a part of how the Church would now like the government to be thinking. They are so preposterous that one would hope that a sensible chap such as Rajoy can see through them. The trouble is, though, that Rajoy has not always been particularly sensible. He is, after all, the politician who said that there was no evidence as to global warming because his cousin had told him there wasn't. To base a case on one person's word (who, it just so happens, is related to you) is not really a trait one would hope for in a politician.
The Archbishop, who one could somehow imagine being played by Robert de Niro, as he looks as though he has stepped out of some of de Niro's flims, represents a still powerful force in the land despite it having lost support in recent years. The Church is desperate to reclaim that power and the theocons in the PP could well enable it to.
* "Theocons" was a term first coined by the newspaper "El País".
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Bishop, The Politicians And The Gays
If you fancy being a bishop, then having a Christian name of Jesús is probably no great disadvantage. And so it is with the Bishop of Mallorca, Jesús Murgui. But neither his status as bishop nor his Christological appellation absolve him from criticism; he gets it in not inconsiderable amounts.
Jesús Murgui became bishop in 2004, succeeding Teodor Úbeda, who had been Mallorca's bishop for 30 years and who had cultivated a reputation for being progressive. It is a reputation that Monseñor Murgui appears not to share. He is said to be a confederate of the archbishops of Madrid and Barcelona and formerly of the late archbishop of Valencia (Agustín García-Gasco who died in May); these three archbishops have been described as the most reactionary and conservative in the Spanish church.
Monseñor Murgui has another type of reputation, a less than wonderful one among the local Spanish media and also among his own priests.
When the press claims that a typical reaction towards the bishop among Mallorcan clergy is one of sarcasm, this may well serve the press's agenda. Sections of the media are suspicious of him, to the point of being antagonistic. And partly, this is because he never speaks to them. In his seven years as bishop, he has given not one interview to the press. Where his reticence is excused, it is not on the grounds of shyness, but on a wish to avoid getting too political.
The problem for the bishop, though, is that, despite his reluctance to engage with the media, his views are known and they are political (in the current social climate of Spain), while he represents an institution, the Catholic Church, which is anything but indifferent to politics.
The First Estate of the Catholic Church is heavily politicised and seeks to influence the political process, and this is especially so in Spain, despite Roman Catholicism having been abandoned as the official religion and despite also a dramatic fall in church-going. It is this seeking of influence that makes the Fourth Estate of the press so ready to leap onto what emanates from the Church. And much has been emanating, much that will be espoused from pulpits this weekend.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference, its president is Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, has recently met. As is customary prior to a national election, it has had something to say for itself, as has Monseñor Murgui. There is little difference between the sentiments of the Conference and those of the bishop, which are being shared with the faithful, three weeks or so before the election.
It will come as no surprise that the bishop is not exactly supportive of issues such as abortion and gay marriage, but what has really stirred things up is that his letter, due to be read out in churches on the island, points to the "danger" of voting for politicians who support gay marriage and to "impositions" by the State. By politicians, he really means political parties, and by implication he lends his support firmly to one party - the Partido Popular.
The PP doesn't need the Church's support to win the election. Though as a party it is identified closely with the Church, it would probably prefer that the bishop, and the Episcopal Conference, in fact kept quiet. Social issues are unlikely to be prominent at hustings for an election that is all about Spain's economy, but they may not be overlooked by much of an electorate which, dissatisfied with PSOE's handling of the economy, has nevertheless broadly agreed with its social policies and with its attitude towards the Church.
For example, an investigation last year by the Mallorcan research organisation Gadeso into religious attitudes found that a majority between the ages of 16 and 59 supported gay marriage. A surprisingly high 35% of those over the age of 60 also supported it. The Church is out of step with social attitudes, just as it has become increasingly out of step with society as a whole and offers waning influence.
One suspects, however, that it sees the election of a PP government as a chance to grab back some influence, hence its pronouncements ahead of the election. For the PP though, it would be a huge mistake if it were to try and turn the clock back. There are unquestionably elements within the PP who would want to do just that, and there is always the suspicion that lurking somewhere in its background is the influence of the mysterious Opus Dei. But as a government it will have enough on its plate without seeking to send Spain back to a reactionary age.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Jesús Murgui became bishop in 2004, succeeding Teodor Úbeda, who had been Mallorca's bishop for 30 years and who had cultivated a reputation for being progressive. It is a reputation that Monseñor Murgui appears not to share. He is said to be a confederate of the archbishops of Madrid and Barcelona and formerly of the late archbishop of Valencia (Agustín García-Gasco who died in May); these three archbishops have been described as the most reactionary and conservative in the Spanish church.
Monseñor Murgui has another type of reputation, a less than wonderful one among the local Spanish media and also among his own priests.
When the press claims that a typical reaction towards the bishop among Mallorcan clergy is one of sarcasm, this may well serve the press's agenda. Sections of the media are suspicious of him, to the point of being antagonistic. And partly, this is because he never speaks to them. In his seven years as bishop, he has given not one interview to the press. Where his reticence is excused, it is not on the grounds of shyness, but on a wish to avoid getting too political.
The problem for the bishop, though, is that, despite his reluctance to engage with the media, his views are known and they are political (in the current social climate of Spain), while he represents an institution, the Catholic Church, which is anything but indifferent to politics.
The First Estate of the Catholic Church is heavily politicised and seeks to influence the political process, and this is especially so in Spain, despite Roman Catholicism having been abandoned as the official religion and despite also a dramatic fall in church-going. It is this seeking of influence that makes the Fourth Estate of the press so ready to leap onto what emanates from the Church. And much has been emanating, much that will be espoused from pulpits this weekend.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference, its president is Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, has recently met. As is customary prior to a national election, it has had something to say for itself, as has Monseñor Murgui. There is little difference between the sentiments of the Conference and those of the bishop, which are being shared with the faithful, three weeks or so before the election.
It will come as no surprise that the bishop is not exactly supportive of issues such as abortion and gay marriage, but what has really stirred things up is that his letter, due to be read out in churches on the island, points to the "danger" of voting for politicians who support gay marriage and to "impositions" by the State. By politicians, he really means political parties, and by implication he lends his support firmly to one party - the Partido Popular.
The PP doesn't need the Church's support to win the election. Though as a party it is identified closely with the Church, it would probably prefer that the bishop, and the Episcopal Conference, in fact kept quiet. Social issues are unlikely to be prominent at hustings for an election that is all about Spain's economy, but they may not be overlooked by much of an electorate which, dissatisfied with PSOE's handling of the economy, has nevertheless broadly agreed with its social policies and with its attitude towards the Church.
For example, an investigation last year by the Mallorcan research organisation Gadeso into religious attitudes found that a majority between the ages of 16 and 59 supported gay marriage. A surprisingly high 35% of those over the age of 60 also supported it. The Church is out of step with social attitudes, just as it has become increasingly out of step with society as a whole and offers waning influence.
One suspects, however, that it sees the election of a PP government as a chance to grab back some influence, hence its pronouncements ahead of the election. For the PP though, it would be a huge mistake if it were to try and turn the clock back. There are unquestionably elements within the PP who would want to do just that, and there is always the suspicion that lurking somewhere in its background is the influence of the mysterious Opus Dei. But as a government it will have enough on its plate without seeking to send Spain back to a reactionary age.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Losing Their Religion: Attitudes towards the Church
The Fundación Gadeso is probably an organisation you are unfamiliar with. But much of the information about social and economic issues in Mallorca comes from the foundation.
Gadeso (Gabinete de Estudios Sociales - office of social studies) was formed in 1975 and became a foundation in 2002. It has been an important source of monitoring social and economic activity since the collapse of the Franco regime. It is an uncontroversial organisation, but it does consider controversial issues, such as corruption. One of the few links from its website - www.gadeso.org - is to a blog called the observatory of corruption which lists everything that is currently happening in respect of corruption allegations in Mallorca.
Also on its website there is, at present, a reader poll inviting responses to the significance of Christmas. The possibilities range from a religious festival to signifying nothing. Gadeso has just undertaken a survey of religious attitudes in the Balearics. This survey, unsurprisingly enough, finds a divergence in opinion across age groups, but it is one, were attitudes not to change as Balearic youth enters adulthood, which highlights the waning dominance of Catholic religious orthodoxy: well under a half of those in the 16-20 age group say they are believers.
Religious belief is one thing, another is the attitude towards issues with a religious dimension. On every issue, a majority of the youth group agrees with divorce, sex outside marriage, passive euthanasia (meaning the refusal or withdrawal of treatment), gay marriage and adoption, and abortion. Only one of these issues, divorce, gets almost unanimous support across different age ranges, but there is a further, more obscure issue which receives very little support, regardless of age. A mere 27% of all those surveyed agree with the system of financing the Catholic Church.
In theory, the Church is meant to depend upon funding through the tax system, i.e. from a percentage of income tax that taxpayers opt to donate to the Church (0.7%). It does of course have sizable assets, being the second largest land and property owner after the state, but its, if you like, working capital comes from this percentage. Or does it?
As long ago as 1987, when the so-called "church tax" was introduced, the Church agreed to be self-financing within three years. It never happened. In 2006 the Zapatero administration announced, belatedly perhaps, that government subsidy of the Church would come to an end, but that the Church would benefit from an increase in the tax to the current level, so it was still not to be self-financing.
Another research organisation, the nationwide Europa Laica (Secular Europe), estimated last year that the Church receives, via different means, some six billion euros of funds from different governmental bodies. The organisation supplied a caveat to its estimate, owing to what was described as a lack of transparency on behalf of both the Church and the government. But its estimate included 3.8 billion euros for private schools that follow the national curriculum and which have Catholic religious education. It also included some 100 million euros that came from taxpayers who had opted not to pay the church tax but to divert the money for social and charitable purposes; there are a large number of Catholic charities. There was also the matter of some 900 million euros of lost tax income because of exemptions.
On this latter point, however, there may well now be a tightening of the tax noose. Three parish churches, those of Son Servera, Felanitx and Pollensa, were recently presented with a combined IVA (VAT) bill of 344,000 euros for building works, following a decision by the Balearics' Supreme Court.
What this all suggests though is that, despite other confrontations with the Church, the Zapatero government hasn't been as aggressive when it comes to funding. The implication of the Gadeso survey, however, is that perhaps it should have been. Whether it has the opportunity to be so in the future depends upon whether there is a future. The Partido Popular (PP) has vowed to turn back the secularism of Zapatero, and this may also include instituting a more favourable financial regime.
Though the Gadeso survey reveals differing attitudes among age groups, they show broad support for many of the government's social policies in the Balearics and echo support elsewhere in Spain. Gadeso is important in that it acts as a barometer of attitudes. Politicians, especially those from the PP, might do well to take some notice of them.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Gadeso (Gabinete de Estudios Sociales - office of social studies) was formed in 1975 and became a foundation in 2002. It has been an important source of monitoring social and economic activity since the collapse of the Franco regime. It is an uncontroversial organisation, but it does consider controversial issues, such as corruption. One of the few links from its website - www.gadeso.org - is to a blog called the observatory of corruption which lists everything that is currently happening in respect of corruption allegations in Mallorca.
Also on its website there is, at present, a reader poll inviting responses to the significance of Christmas. The possibilities range from a religious festival to signifying nothing. Gadeso has just undertaken a survey of religious attitudes in the Balearics. This survey, unsurprisingly enough, finds a divergence in opinion across age groups, but it is one, were attitudes not to change as Balearic youth enters adulthood, which highlights the waning dominance of Catholic religious orthodoxy: well under a half of those in the 16-20 age group say they are believers.
Religious belief is one thing, another is the attitude towards issues with a religious dimension. On every issue, a majority of the youth group agrees with divorce, sex outside marriage, passive euthanasia (meaning the refusal or withdrawal of treatment), gay marriage and adoption, and abortion. Only one of these issues, divorce, gets almost unanimous support across different age ranges, but there is a further, more obscure issue which receives very little support, regardless of age. A mere 27% of all those surveyed agree with the system of financing the Catholic Church.
In theory, the Church is meant to depend upon funding through the tax system, i.e. from a percentage of income tax that taxpayers opt to donate to the Church (0.7%). It does of course have sizable assets, being the second largest land and property owner after the state, but its, if you like, working capital comes from this percentage. Or does it?
As long ago as 1987, when the so-called "church tax" was introduced, the Church agreed to be self-financing within three years. It never happened. In 2006 the Zapatero administration announced, belatedly perhaps, that government subsidy of the Church would come to an end, but that the Church would benefit from an increase in the tax to the current level, so it was still not to be self-financing.
Another research organisation, the nationwide Europa Laica (Secular Europe), estimated last year that the Church receives, via different means, some six billion euros of funds from different governmental bodies. The organisation supplied a caveat to its estimate, owing to what was described as a lack of transparency on behalf of both the Church and the government. But its estimate included 3.8 billion euros for private schools that follow the national curriculum and which have Catholic religious education. It also included some 100 million euros that came from taxpayers who had opted not to pay the church tax but to divert the money for social and charitable purposes; there are a large number of Catholic charities. There was also the matter of some 900 million euros of lost tax income because of exemptions.
On this latter point, however, there may well now be a tightening of the tax noose. Three parish churches, those of Son Servera, Felanitx and Pollensa, were recently presented with a combined IVA (VAT) bill of 344,000 euros for building works, following a decision by the Balearics' Supreme Court.
What this all suggests though is that, despite other confrontations with the Church, the Zapatero government hasn't been as aggressive when it comes to funding. The implication of the Gadeso survey, however, is that perhaps it should have been. Whether it has the opportunity to be so in the future depends upon whether there is a future. The Partido Popular (PP) has vowed to turn back the secularism of Zapatero, and this may also include instituting a more favourable financial regime.
Though the Gadeso survey reveals differing attitudes among age groups, they show broad support for many of the government's social policies in the Balearics and echo support elsewhere in Spain. Gadeso is important in that it acts as a barometer of attitudes. Politicians, especially those from the PP, might do well to take some notice of them.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
These Words: The Pope and Spanish secularism
The Pope's favourite two words. Aggressive and secularism. Combined, they come out like a knocking-copy comparative advertising slogan. Marketing people know of the dangers of knocking the competition. The Pope should know of the dangers as well.
The Pope levelled the aggressive secularism charge against Britain. He has now done so as well in Spain. It's one that carries more weight in a Catholic country, more so than it did in Britain where it should have been shrugged off with a so-what.
The charge carries weight and danger because it is an overtly political statement, one that is explicit in its criticism of the socially liberal, anti-Church policies of the current Zapatero government. The danger is immense. While it may be a reassuring message for a moderate Catholic right, there exist more extreme elements. The added danger of the Pope's words can be seen in the context of his expression of contemporary secularism. He compared this to the "strong and aggressive (that word again) anti-clericalism" of the 1930s.
Playing the '30s card resonates with all manner of alarm bells. The anti-clericalism of that time was just one factor that contributed to the rise of Nationalism and of Franco. And strict Catholic orthodoxy was to become an important strand of Francoism.
The Pope is referring to the efforts of the Second Republic from 1931 to undermine the privileged position of the Catholic Church and to introduce reforms such as secular education. The circumstances are nowadays quite different, with regard especially to education. They also differ dramatically in another way. The Republic attempted to address social problems and issues in the first part of the 1930s, but did so against a background of what was a shaky political structure. This is not the case today.
It was the apparent persecution of the Church by Republican constitutional change that was to become a theme of the political and then military struggles of the 1930s. To draw a comparison with anti-clericalism and secularism then and now is not completely without foundation, given the emergence of policies related to abortion, divorce and homosexuality. But the dynamics are very different, as indeed are the issues.
A generation or more has grown up knowing both increased secularism and democratic stability. The Church's influence has been reduced significantly in a country where only around a seventh of the population now attends mass regularly. And education, one of the battlegrounds of the '30s, is a further factor in a society that now enjoys better standards of education than before. The Pope might reflect on the fact that the reinstatement of the Jesuits under the Nationalists, alongside the Falange's control of universities, did not contribute to making a population that much better educated than it was in the '30s. It certainly did nothing for anything that might have approximated to a liberal educational tradition. Which was really the point of the Church's opposition to anti-clericalism under the Republicans. And remains so today.
One of the great ironies of Spain and of all the problems it faced from the nineteenth century until Franco died is that Spain gave the world the concept of liberalism. It has taken an enormously long time from its inception as an ideal in the early 1800s for it to have finally taken hold in Spain. The word and the concept have come to be wrongly abused, hijacked by a right wing that has misappropriated it through - further irony - its own politically correct dogma. In today's Spain liberalism is portrayed, by the Catholic right, as the creation of what it sees as social evils. But this is a stance unshared by and rejected by a majority of the population.
For the Pope, there is more history. It is that of Spain at the end of the fifteenth century and into the sixteenth, when Spain was the perfect example of a Catholic "state" and, moreover, was crucial to Catholic imperialism. For the Vatican, there is much riding on Spain's ongoing Catholicism, but much which is historical symbolism. The danger in what the Pope has said lies in stirring up that symbolism and giving it political succour. Whether aggressive or not, secularism - and liberalism - have come to define Spanish society. That of today. And it's only taken a couple of hundred years for it to get there.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The Pope levelled the aggressive secularism charge against Britain. He has now done so as well in Spain. It's one that carries more weight in a Catholic country, more so than it did in Britain where it should have been shrugged off with a so-what.
The charge carries weight and danger because it is an overtly political statement, one that is explicit in its criticism of the socially liberal, anti-Church policies of the current Zapatero government. The danger is immense. While it may be a reassuring message for a moderate Catholic right, there exist more extreme elements. The added danger of the Pope's words can be seen in the context of his expression of contemporary secularism. He compared this to the "strong and aggressive (that word again) anti-clericalism" of the 1930s.
Playing the '30s card resonates with all manner of alarm bells. The anti-clericalism of that time was just one factor that contributed to the rise of Nationalism and of Franco. And strict Catholic orthodoxy was to become an important strand of Francoism.
The Pope is referring to the efforts of the Second Republic from 1931 to undermine the privileged position of the Catholic Church and to introduce reforms such as secular education. The circumstances are nowadays quite different, with regard especially to education. They also differ dramatically in another way. The Republic attempted to address social problems and issues in the first part of the 1930s, but did so against a background of what was a shaky political structure. This is not the case today.
It was the apparent persecution of the Church by Republican constitutional change that was to become a theme of the political and then military struggles of the 1930s. To draw a comparison with anti-clericalism and secularism then and now is not completely without foundation, given the emergence of policies related to abortion, divorce and homosexuality. But the dynamics are very different, as indeed are the issues.
A generation or more has grown up knowing both increased secularism and democratic stability. The Church's influence has been reduced significantly in a country where only around a seventh of the population now attends mass regularly. And education, one of the battlegrounds of the '30s, is a further factor in a society that now enjoys better standards of education than before. The Pope might reflect on the fact that the reinstatement of the Jesuits under the Nationalists, alongside the Falange's control of universities, did not contribute to making a population that much better educated than it was in the '30s. It certainly did nothing for anything that might have approximated to a liberal educational tradition. Which was really the point of the Church's opposition to anti-clericalism under the Republicans. And remains so today.
One of the great ironies of Spain and of all the problems it faced from the nineteenth century until Franco died is that Spain gave the world the concept of liberalism. It has taken an enormously long time from its inception as an ideal in the early 1800s for it to have finally taken hold in Spain. The word and the concept have come to be wrongly abused, hijacked by a right wing that has misappropriated it through - further irony - its own politically correct dogma. In today's Spain liberalism is portrayed, by the Catholic right, as the creation of what it sees as social evils. But this is a stance unshared by and rejected by a majority of the population.
For the Pope, there is more history. It is that of Spain at the end of the fifteenth century and into the sixteenth, when Spain was the perfect example of a Catholic "state" and, moreover, was crucial to Catholic imperialism. For the Vatican, there is much riding on Spain's ongoing Catholicism, but much which is historical symbolism. The danger in what the Pope has said lies in stirring up that symbolism and giving it political succour. Whether aggressive or not, secularism - and liberalism - have come to define Spanish society. That of today. And it's only taken a couple of hundred years for it to get there.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Losing Their Religion - religious study in Mallorca
Good news for Mallorcan agnostics. Religious education is less popular than it was. The Balearics have fewer students taking religion than any other autonomous region in Spain. And for religion, read Catholicism. There is a vast discrepancy between private and public educational institutions and between primary, secondary and the higher level of the Baccalaureate, but the trend for religious education is downwards. Less than 15% of those in public secondary schools undertake such study.
There are various reasons being advanced as to this growing irreligiousness among the youth of Mallorca and the islands, such as other courses and a growing cosmopolitan population, but the findings of the ministry of education seem indisputable - religion, Catholicism, is in retreat, at secondary school anyway.
Is this so surprising? Why the Balearics might be less religious than elsewhere is curious, but the islands are subject to the same dynamics as elsewhere in Spain, these dynamics - for the young - being what you might expect: youth culture, normal adolescent rebellion, and the like. The findings might be good news for agnostics, but they don't necessarily mean that religion and Catholicism are in a freefall of disinterest. However, there are other dynamics, not least of which are political. Spain, and the Balearics, have been kicked into greater secularism on the back of social reforms, those that have caused outrage among the conservative, Catholic right - itself a natural target of rejection for the young. These reforms - liberalised abortion, gay rights, easier divorce, assisted suicide (possibly) - sit unwell with that conservativism, but they are in tune with a modern societal impulse propelled by the Zapatero administration which has, some say, been hell-bent on a collision course with the Church.
While attitudes of the young may well continue into adulthood, there is - perhaps - one factor that endures and which favours an essential religiosity, and that it is the family. Religious studies may be in decline, but the traditions that surround families' rites of passage - from baptism through the communion to marriage - do not necessarily show signs of being undermined. Nor does the power of the family, despite the liberality of gay marriage or termination.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that strong criticism is reserved for the Church, especially among younger Mallorcans, those into adulthood. It is seen as an obstacle and even anachronistic. It has also, thanks to the publicity surrounding the law of historic memory and the rejection of all things Franco, been exposed - for many - as a reactionary force, supporting nationalism and authoritarianism during the Civil War and its aftermath.
For outside observers, such as myself, one from an irreligious background, the trappings of some local religion seem bizarre, such as the zeal of aspirants to the role of Santa Margalida's Beata, young-ish girls lining up for a public, fiesta statement of modern-day sainthood and devil rejection. It's easy to see such a tradition as oddly quaint, but tradition does still pervade - up to a point. The fiesta, and its religious basis, has undergone a transformation. There is a debate in Palma regarding the San Sebastià fiesta - whether it should actually be held in summer, rather than winter, and also whether it has gone too far in the direction of being some youth-fest of rock bands and DJs. For the Mallorcan young, many of them, fiesta is not a religious celebration, but an opportunity to get off their face and to dance to the pagan of the turntable and mix. Ironic, but the religious justification of the fiesta in its current-day party guise may have actually done as much, if not more, than Spanish politics to have diminished religious studies and religion - period.
QUIZ
Yesterday: Goldfrapp, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEV7IhRw8Ck.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
There are various reasons being advanced as to this growing irreligiousness among the youth of Mallorca and the islands, such as other courses and a growing cosmopolitan population, but the findings of the ministry of education seem indisputable - religion, Catholicism, is in retreat, at secondary school anyway.
Is this so surprising? Why the Balearics might be less religious than elsewhere is curious, but the islands are subject to the same dynamics as elsewhere in Spain, these dynamics - for the young - being what you might expect: youth culture, normal adolescent rebellion, and the like. The findings might be good news for agnostics, but they don't necessarily mean that religion and Catholicism are in a freefall of disinterest. However, there are other dynamics, not least of which are political. Spain, and the Balearics, have been kicked into greater secularism on the back of social reforms, those that have caused outrage among the conservative, Catholic right - itself a natural target of rejection for the young. These reforms - liberalised abortion, gay rights, easier divorce, assisted suicide (possibly) - sit unwell with that conservativism, but they are in tune with a modern societal impulse propelled by the Zapatero administration which has, some say, been hell-bent on a collision course with the Church.
While attitudes of the young may well continue into adulthood, there is - perhaps - one factor that endures and which favours an essential religiosity, and that it is the family. Religious studies may be in decline, but the traditions that surround families' rites of passage - from baptism through the communion to marriage - do not necessarily show signs of being undermined. Nor does the power of the family, despite the liberality of gay marriage or termination.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that strong criticism is reserved for the Church, especially among younger Mallorcans, those into adulthood. It is seen as an obstacle and even anachronistic. It has also, thanks to the publicity surrounding the law of historic memory and the rejection of all things Franco, been exposed - for many - as a reactionary force, supporting nationalism and authoritarianism during the Civil War and its aftermath.
For outside observers, such as myself, one from an irreligious background, the trappings of some local religion seem bizarre, such as the zeal of aspirants to the role of Santa Margalida's Beata, young-ish girls lining up for a public, fiesta statement of modern-day sainthood and devil rejection. It's easy to see such a tradition as oddly quaint, but tradition does still pervade - up to a point. The fiesta, and its religious basis, has undergone a transformation. There is a debate in Palma regarding the San Sebastià fiesta - whether it should actually be held in summer, rather than winter, and also whether it has gone too far in the direction of being some youth-fest of rock bands and DJs. For the Mallorcan young, many of them, fiesta is not a religious celebration, but an opportunity to get off their face and to dance to the pagan of the turntable and mix. Ironic, but the religious justification of the fiesta in its current-day party guise may have actually done as much, if not more, than Spanish politics to have diminished religious studies and religion - period.
QUIZ
Yesterday: Goldfrapp, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEV7IhRw8Ck.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Matters Of Life And Death
The anti-abortion rally that took place in Madrid on Saturday attracted, depending on whose figures you believe, anything between a quarter of a million and a million and a half demonstrators. The rally, as much as it was a pro-life proclamation, was also a direct attack against the liberal social policies of the Zapatero government. Since taking office, Sr. Zapatero's socialist administration has sought to slacken the shackles of conservative Catholicism by, for example, legalising gay marriage and now seeking to introduce abortion on demand and, moreover, abortion for 16 and 17-year old girls without their having to gain parental consent. Until now, abortion has been sanctioned only in extenuating circumstances, but it has also not been unknown, under these circumstances, for termination to be performed as late as eight months. The most usual justification has been the psychological or physical risk to the mother. The government wishes to see abortion on demand up to 14 weeks and no later than 22 weeks in certain instances.
As ever, this is a tough issue. The conservatism of the Catholic right makes it an even tougher one in Spain. The Zapatero government has sought to take on this conservatism - it is, perhaps, the single most important socio-political question that the country faces. Yet the power of the church has waned. Less than 20 per cent of the population now attends church on a regular basis. There are those who will quite openly denounce the obstructiveness of the church, while there are also those with memories of the church's role in the Franco era.
Nevertheless, abortion is a subject that goes beyond either religion or politics. It is, or should be, a moral issue, divorced from religious doctrine or political dogma. Personally, I struggle with it. Like, I would imagine, most people, I abhor the notion of abortion, but the moral argument goes further than the rights of the unborn child. Also like many people, I have had experience of abortion, if not directly but through the experiences of friends, such as one who terminated her pregnancy because the baby would have been born with Down's Syndrome. I also know people with Down's children, but was she wrong to have terminated? I don't believe she was. And one edges into the quality-of-life question. It is tough, and no-one can say that it isn't.
If abortion is a morally tough call, there is less agonising when it comes to assisted suicide. Or, put it this way, I do not have a moral struggle with it. This is also something that the Spanish are toying with. But it has been nuanced as a political issue, quite inappropriately in my opinion. In September last year, the health minister stated that a decision to opt for assisted suicide was in line with socialist ideology. The argument is laughable. The avoidance of "unnecessary suffering", the more humane justification that the ministry has proposed, is the key and not dogma.
I know someone who has a highly aggressive form of multiple sclerosis**. I will not name her, but there are many in Alcúdia and around who will know who she is. The disease has progressed rapidly; total incapacity and loss of control of functions are inevitable. There is no cure of course. Let me stress that I am not for one moment suggesting that assisted suicide is a solution that has been mentioned in her case. But it should surely be an option were she, or anyone else with such an awful condition to consider it, just as Debbie Purdy - also an MS sufferer - has fought for it to be in the UK. Any change to Spanish law to permit assisted suicide has yet to be agreed, but it is on the table. They should do it.
Inevitably, as with abortion, the assisted suicide argument runs up against the same opposition - that of the Catholic right. However much one may find repugnant or support abortion and assisted suicide, the decisions do ultimately reside with secular politicians. And it is this that traditional Catholic conservatism cannot accept. Politicians may make the winning of the arguments more difficult by styling them in terms of a particular political philosophy, but it is they who are the moral arbiters and not the church. Both issues will continue to arouse the passions of the traditionalists but, rather like Margaret Thatcher embarked on a change in British culture through her confrontations with the unions, so Zapatero has made this traditionalism his battlefield in advancing the cause of a socially liberal Spain and neutering the conservatism that historically has been the state's undoing. But there's a difference: cultural change in Spain is a matter of life and death.
No-one said this was easy.
** Multiple sclerosis is relatively uncommon in Mallorca, which may support a view that lower doses of sunlight can be influential in its development. In the case above, the person concerned is not originally from Mallorca and also has a condition against prolonged exposure to sun.
On a different health issue - breast cancer - I am grateful to Ben Grimley for the photo above. This comes from a short ceremony on the sports beach in Puerto Alcúdia yesterday at the end of a walk in aid of breast cancer charity. Alcúdia's mayor is on the far right in the photo.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Dusty Springfield, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEy3fhrDYNY.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Thanks, Mr. President
Spain will hold a general election on 9 March. I can already hear the presses being cranked up with the “Vota” posters.
There are two parties that matter in Spain – the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) of the current ruling Zapatero administration and the PP (Partido Popular) headed by Mariano Rajoy. Left and right, well sort of. There is a third party, the smaller, communist-led United Left. In addition, there are innumerable other minor parties and groupings, among the more significant being regional parties in Catalonia and the Basque country.
The election promises to be close. At present, the PSOE holds a three percentage point lead in the polls, though Sr. Zapatero enjoys higher personal satisfaction ratings than his main opponent. It could be that the election comes down to this personal popularity.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was launched into presidential office* by surprise, his included. On winning the 2004 election, not only did he look like Mr. Bean, his body language and demeanour were those of an awkward and shy person with a sheepish grin that suggested he was thinking “what the heck do I do now?”. Prior to the win, he had tried – unconvincingly – to do a Mr. Angry act in parliamentary exchanges. There was and is something endearing about him, like a bookish and meek schoolmaster attempting – generally unsuccessfully – to appear tough. Like Tony Blair, he once had the sobriquet “Bambi”. But politicians don’t rise to head political parties without there being some substance, unless that politician happens to be Iain Duncan Smith.
(* The position is President, though in the UK it is common to refer to the Spanish leader as Prime Minister.)
Zapatero is a sympathetic character. Rather like John Major, for any failings, there is a feeling that he is a decent enough bloke, and he has not been exposed with his pants down (or up) with a female member of government. Mariano Rajoy, on the other hand, attracts little in the way of sympathy, albeit that, in the aftermath of the defeat in 2004 when as Jose Maria Aznar’s anointed successor he stood to be the next president, he cut a sad and forlorn figure. And that’s just it with Sr. Rajoy. He looks sad, or is it miserable? Perhaps it’s something to do with the beard. Zapatero’s face can crack into a boyish and somewhat mischievous smile, but Rajoy just looks Mr. Grumpy.
Rajoy has done himself few favours with his absurd categorical rejection of climate change. Certitude in a leader may be an attribute, but not if it is plain wrong. The environment is unlikely to be one of the bigger issues in the election, even if the Government, via its coastal reclaim and demolition plan, has indicated the importance of environmental concerns. But it remains to be seen whether this is just political posturing in currying favour with the environmental lobby.
The election is likely to be fought on two major issues – the economy and terrorism. Spain’s economy has thrived under Zapatero (as it had done under Aznar), but the election’s timing is unfortunate for him. Uncertainty that has clouded the otherwise sunny economic sky is largely not of the Government’s doing nor necessarily within the Government’s control. The European Central Bank’s raising of interest rates was the first cloud, and inflation has stubbornly resisted this. The housing market is in a general downturn, and there is significant indebtedness within certain sectors of the economy – construction not least – and at the consumer level. The US-led credit squeeze was a double whammy on top of the ECB’s intervention.
Terrorism, it is claimed with justification, lost the PP the last election. Or, as importantly, the then Government’s reaction to terrorism lost the election. The Madrid bombings occurred three days before the 2004 election, and Aznar chose to finger the Basque terrorists ETA as the perpetrators. He was of course wrong.
Zapatero had appeared to be making headway with a solution to the Basque issue until ETA broke its truce last summer (which had been effectively ended anyway by the bombing of Madrid airport). The truce had, all along perhaps, been a camouflage for ETA to regroup, and ETA could yet influence the result of this year’s election. It has been argued that Zapatero’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq suggested that he was less than tough on terrorism, and it may (stress may) have triggered a green light to ETA to eventually resume its activities. No one can know for sure. It is a matter of record though that Zapatero opposed Spanish military action in Iraq and that he questioned the legality of the invasion. However, the troop withdrawal was as much a political move for domestic consumption as anything else, a rejection of Aznar’s elevation of Spain into the international arena in support of Bush and Blair, for which he (Aznar) was mercilessly mocked by the Spanish equivalent of “Spitting Image” as “Tony’s little friend” in the style that David Steel once was.
Whether one accepts or not a sort of terrorism-lite approach by Zapatero in any link between the Iraq troop withdrawal decision and subsequent ETA activity, there was a widely held feeling that the withdrawal was at least partly due to the threat of a further outrage by Al-Qaida. As a participant in the fall of Saddam, Spain placed itself in the sights of Bin Laden and his network of cronies (and succumbed to them in the form of the Madrid bombings).
Another issue that may play a part in the election is the Government’s relationship with the Catholic Church. There has been disquiet in conservative religious circles at certain policies such as those regarding same-sex marriages and abortion. But abortion remains subject to strict criteria in Spain, and recent police activity against clinics alleged to have flouted these criteria does not suggest a general softening of approach. The hold of the Catholic Church over the Spanish people is not nearly as strong as one might imagine. Less than 20% of the population attends church on a regular basis. Economic development of the past two decades has made Spain an altogether more secular society. The Church may still have a say, but its voice is heard by fewer and fewer.
Where the Balearics and Mallorca are concerned, the maintenance of a Socialist government in Madrid should be beneficial in that both the national and regional administrations will continue to be governed by leaders of the same party. Zapatero has indicated that more from the central coffers could be coming the Balearics’ way if he wins. Vota PSOE in the Balearics, vota more dosh. Maybe.
Personality counts for so much in current-day politics. Zapatero may not be a Felipe González, a flamboyant Socialist leader and arguably Spain’s pre-eminent post-Franco politician, but he is regarded with some affection. The economy may be the main battleground, but the fight between a likeable politician and a dour one may yet prove to be critical. Likeable versus dour. Now where have I heard that before?
QUIZ
Yesterday – Gene Vincent. Today’s title – no way indicative of my support or not let me point out, and no prizes for knowing Marilyn Monroe, so something easier as a follow-up to yesterday. Who sang “Sweet Gene Vincent”?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
There are two parties that matter in Spain – the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) of the current ruling Zapatero administration and the PP (Partido Popular) headed by Mariano Rajoy. Left and right, well sort of. There is a third party, the smaller, communist-led United Left. In addition, there are innumerable other minor parties and groupings, among the more significant being regional parties in Catalonia and the Basque country.
The election promises to be close. At present, the PSOE holds a three percentage point lead in the polls, though Sr. Zapatero enjoys higher personal satisfaction ratings than his main opponent. It could be that the election comes down to this personal popularity.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was launched into presidential office* by surprise, his included. On winning the 2004 election, not only did he look like Mr. Bean, his body language and demeanour were those of an awkward and shy person with a sheepish grin that suggested he was thinking “what the heck do I do now?”. Prior to the win, he had tried – unconvincingly – to do a Mr. Angry act in parliamentary exchanges. There was and is something endearing about him, like a bookish and meek schoolmaster attempting – generally unsuccessfully – to appear tough. Like Tony Blair, he once had the sobriquet “Bambi”. But politicians don’t rise to head political parties without there being some substance, unless that politician happens to be Iain Duncan Smith.
(* The position is President, though in the UK it is common to refer to the Spanish leader as Prime Minister.)
Zapatero is a sympathetic character. Rather like John Major, for any failings, there is a feeling that he is a decent enough bloke, and he has not been exposed with his pants down (or up) with a female member of government. Mariano Rajoy, on the other hand, attracts little in the way of sympathy, albeit that, in the aftermath of the defeat in 2004 when as Jose Maria Aznar’s anointed successor he stood to be the next president, he cut a sad and forlorn figure. And that’s just it with Sr. Rajoy. He looks sad, or is it miserable? Perhaps it’s something to do with the beard. Zapatero’s face can crack into a boyish and somewhat mischievous smile, but Rajoy just looks Mr. Grumpy.
Rajoy has done himself few favours with his absurd categorical rejection of climate change. Certitude in a leader may be an attribute, but not if it is plain wrong. The environment is unlikely to be one of the bigger issues in the election, even if the Government, via its coastal reclaim and demolition plan, has indicated the importance of environmental concerns. But it remains to be seen whether this is just political posturing in currying favour with the environmental lobby.
The election is likely to be fought on two major issues – the economy and terrorism. Spain’s economy has thrived under Zapatero (as it had done under Aznar), but the election’s timing is unfortunate for him. Uncertainty that has clouded the otherwise sunny economic sky is largely not of the Government’s doing nor necessarily within the Government’s control. The European Central Bank’s raising of interest rates was the first cloud, and inflation has stubbornly resisted this. The housing market is in a general downturn, and there is significant indebtedness within certain sectors of the economy – construction not least – and at the consumer level. The US-led credit squeeze was a double whammy on top of the ECB’s intervention.
Terrorism, it is claimed with justification, lost the PP the last election. Or, as importantly, the then Government’s reaction to terrorism lost the election. The Madrid bombings occurred three days before the 2004 election, and Aznar chose to finger the Basque terrorists ETA as the perpetrators. He was of course wrong.
Zapatero had appeared to be making headway with a solution to the Basque issue until ETA broke its truce last summer (which had been effectively ended anyway by the bombing of Madrid airport). The truce had, all along perhaps, been a camouflage for ETA to regroup, and ETA could yet influence the result of this year’s election. It has been argued that Zapatero’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq suggested that he was less than tough on terrorism, and it may (stress may) have triggered a green light to ETA to eventually resume its activities. No one can know for sure. It is a matter of record though that Zapatero opposed Spanish military action in Iraq and that he questioned the legality of the invasion. However, the troop withdrawal was as much a political move for domestic consumption as anything else, a rejection of Aznar’s elevation of Spain into the international arena in support of Bush and Blair, for which he (Aznar) was mercilessly mocked by the Spanish equivalent of “Spitting Image” as “Tony’s little friend” in the style that David Steel once was.
Whether one accepts or not a sort of terrorism-lite approach by Zapatero in any link between the Iraq troop withdrawal decision and subsequent ETA activity, there was a widely held feeling that the withdrawal was at least partly due to the threat of a further outrage by Al-Qaida. As a participant in the fall of Saddam, Spain placed itself in the sights of Bin Laden and his network of cronies (and succumbed to them in the form of the Madrid bombings).
Another issue that may play a part in the election is the Government’s relationship with the Catholic Church. There has been disquiet in conservative religious circles at certain policies such as those regarding same-sex marriages and abortion. But abortion remains subject to strict criteria in Spain, and recent police activity against clinics alleged to have flouted these criteria does not suggest a general softening of approach. The hold of the Catholic Church over the Spanish people is not nearly as strong as one might imagine. Less than 20% of the population attends church on a regular basis. Economic development of the past two decades has made Spain an altogether more secular society. The Church may still have a say, but its voice is heard by fewer and fewer.
Where the Balearics and Mallorca are concerned, the maintenance of a Socialist government in Madrid should be beneficial in that both the national and regional administrations will continue to be governed by leaders of the same party. Zapatero has indicated that more from the central coffers could be coming the Balearics’ way if he wins. Vota PSOE in the Balearics, vota more dosh. Maybe.
Personality counts for so much in current-day politics. Zapatero may not be a Felipe González, a flamboyant Socialist leader and arguably Spain’s pre-eminent post-Franco politician, but he is regarded with some affection. The economy may be the main battleground, but the fight between a likeable politician and a dour one may yet prove to be critical. Likeable versus dour. Now where have I heard that before?
QUIZ
Yesterday – Gene Vincent. Today’s title – no way indicative of my support or not let me point out, and no prizes for knowing Marilyn Monroe, so something easier as a follow-up to yesterday. Who sang “Sweet Gene Vincent”?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Monday, October 29, 2007
Every Brother Is A Star, Every Sister Is A Star
From Sa Pobla, Lluc, Soller, Petra, Vilafranca de Bonany and Mancor de la Vall - “Els màrtirs del Coll”. Male and female - Brothers and Sisters. They were among those beatified yesterday. They were shot in the Coll district of Barcelona. There were Mallorcan flags in St. Peter’s Square, and Mallorcan relatives.
Today is another day to be celebrated. This is not a religious day, but a political one. 29 October 2007 marks 30 years since a vast demonstration that called for a statute of autonomy for Mallorca (and the Balearics) in the immediate post-Franco era. That statute was granted in 1983.
So much for that Civil War and Franco-period amnesia.
To other matters ... Here’s a surprise. The “Diario” is quoting industry representatives who reckon that the bar/café/restaurant market is reaching saturation point. Well, who would have thought it!? There is a belief that this saturation is being brought about partly by those who open up for the tourist season with the sole intention of making a fast buck, who offer low quality and high prices in pursuit of that goal, and then look to sell on the traspaso having achieved it. Depending on how the figures are arrived at, there has been - at most - an average increase of 7% in the total number of various types of establishment.
There is turnover of bars and restaurants. This is undoubtedly the case, but I am not aware of hordes of fly-by-nights acting in the way suggested, which isn’t to say it doesn’t happen. The fact is though that it takes a hefty financial commitment to stump up for a traspaso in the first place. A resultant swift sale is usually more because the place has flopped rather than because a fast buck has been attained. I could give you plenty of examples of this.
Saturation is an issue. I have referred to it several times before. The growth of the all-inclusive (AI) only compounds the problem of saturation - too many places chasing too little demand. The flops are largely the result of the double-whammy of too much competition and too much AI offer. Rather than cynically chasing wads of cash, perhaps it is more a case that people take on establishments without full appreciation of the market and then have to adjust quality (down) and prices (up) because it is the only way to survive until they can sell on the traspaso - and that is becoming quite a big if.
On the Balearic property scene, it is being widely reported that, while the prices of new properties have risen (by around 4%), prices for other properties are down by as much as 10% - and this only over the past few months. There is an adjustment occurring in the market, and mortgage lenders are becoming a lot tighter. Though this may put a block on overall growth, the adjustment is overdue.
And weather ... no, yesterday was a blip. Rain again.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Jethro Tull. Today’s title - who? (I’m not making a statement; like many of the titles, it just came to me.)
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Today is another day to be celebrated. This is not a religious day, but a political one. 29 October 2007 marks 30 years since a vast demonstration that called for a statute of autonomy for Mallorca (and the Balearics) in the immediate post-Franco era. That statute was granted in 1983.
So much for that Civil War and Franco-period amnesia.
To other matters ... Here’s a surprise. The “Diario” is quoting industry representatives who reckon that the bar/café/restaurant market is reaching saturation point. Well, who would have thought it!? There is a belief that this saturation is being brought about partly by those who open up for the tourist season with the sole intention of making a fast buck, who offer low quality and high prices in pursuit of that goal, and then look to sell on the traspaso having achieved it. Depending on how the figures are arrived at, there has been - at most - an average increase of 7% in the total number of various types of establishment.
There is turnover of bars and restaurants. This is undoubtedly the case, but I am not aware of hordes of fly-by-nights acting in the way suggested, which isn’t to say it doesn’t happen. The fact is though that it takes a hefty financial commitment to stump up for a traspaso in the first place. A resultant swift sale is usually more because the place has flopped rather than because a fast buck has been attained. I could give you plenty of examples of this.
Saturation is an issue. I have referred to it several times before. The growth of the all-inclusive (AI) only compounds the problem of saturation - too many places chasing too little demand. The flops are largely the result of the double-whammy of too much competition and too much AI offer. Rather than cynically chasing wads of cash, perhaps it is more a case that people take on establishments without full appreciation of the market and then have to adjust quality (down) and prices (up) because it is the only way to survive until they can sell on the traspaso - and that is becoming quite a big if.
On the Balearic property scene, it is being widely reported that, while the prices of new properties have risen (by around 4%), prices for other properties are down by as much as 10% - and this only over the past few months. There is an adjustment occurring in the market, and mortgage lenders are becoming a lot tighter. Though this may put a block on overall growth, the adjustment is overdue.
And weather ... no, yesterday was a blip. Rain again.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Jethro Tull. Today’s title - who? (I’m not making a statement; like many of the titles, it just came to me.)
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Living In The Past
The beatification of Roman Catholic clergy killed by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War has raised unpleasant memories and no little controversy. One might ask quite why the Vatican has chosen to potentially open old wounds.
The Spanish Civil War and indeed its aftermath (Franco’s rule) are not things you hear widely discussed here. The Spanish have been accused of an amnesia in respect of the war. One can sympathise up to a point: the atrocities of both the Republicans and the Nationalists are hardly subjects many wish to ponder over a coffee at a sea-front café.
The church suffered enormously at the hands of the Republicans. Thousands of priests were slaughtered and churches were burned down. The ultimate victory of the Nationalists saw also a reaffirmation of traditional Catholic values; the church and Francoism stood side by side.
Speak to locals who are willing to remember, and there is frequently a dichotomy between distancing themselves from Franco and the importance that the church still has in contemporary society. The Vatican, though reasonably enough saying that the beatification is an act of reconciliation, risks dredging up the old association of church and dictator that many would rather forget. It also risks polarising opinion by honouring the dead of just one side.
This comes at a time when the Spanish parliament is due to pass legislation which will not only acknowledge the victims of the Civil War but also require the church to change any pro-Franco monuments.
However much many Spaniards may prefer to remain amnesic, they are having their memories stimulated. Some may not like it, but to be able to confront the past in a reconciliatory fashion (to borrow from the Vatican) is a sign, or should be, of the country’s maturity. It was 70 years ago, after all.
(Source for some of this from the BBC website.)
On a lighter note, the grim weather that the British half-termers have had to contend with has finally given way to some sun. It is remarkable that one forgets, so quickly, how hot the sun is (even at the end of October). Problem is there has been so little sign of it for days. So as the season pulls up its duvet for winter hibernation, maybe a belated burst of late “summer”.
QUIZ
Yesterday - The Decemberists. Today’s title - well,yesterday’s was tough, so this is dead easy.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The Spanish Civil War and indeed its aftermath (Franco’s rule) are not things you hear widely discussed here. The Spanish have been accused of an amnesia in respect of the war. One can sympathise up to a point: the atrocities of both the Republicans and the Nationalists are hardly subjects many wish to ponder over a coffee at a sea-front café.
The church suffered enormously at the hands of the Republicans. Thousands of priests were slaughtered and churches were burned down. The ultimate victory of the Nationalists saw also a reaffirmation of traditional Catholic values; the church and Francoism stood side by side.
Speak to locals who are willing to remember, and there is frequently a dichotomy between distancing themselves from Franco and the importance that the church still has in contemporary society. The Vatican, though reasonably enough saying that the beatification is an act of reconciliation, risks dredging up the old association of church and dictator that many would rather forget. It also risks polarising opinion by honouring the dead of just one side.
This comes at a time when the Spanish parliament is due to pass legislation which will not only acknowledge the victims of the Civil War but also require the church to change any pro-Franco monuments.
However much many Spaniards may prefer to remain amnesic, they are having their memories stimulated. Some may not like it, but to be able to confront the past in a reconciliatory fashion (to borrow from the Vatican) is a sign, or should be, of the country’s maturity. It was 70 years ago, after all.
(Source for some of this from the BBC website.)
On a lighter note, the grim weather that the British half-termers have had to contend with has finally given way to some sun. It is remarkable that one forgets, so quickly, how hot the sun is (even at the end of October). Problem is there has been so little sign of it for days. So as the season pulls up its duvet for winter hibernation, maybe a belated burst of late “summer”.
QUIZ
Yesterday - The Decemberists. Today’s title - well,yesterday’s was tough, so this is dead easy.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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