Spanish bishops protest at new Constitution

THE SPANISH bishops have strongly objected to
certain aspects of the new
Spanish Constitution which excludes any mention of the Church and which does not touch on moral questions such as abortion.
In a joint statement issued at the end of the Spanish Bishops' Conference this week, they suggest important amendments to the proposed Constitution. The draft can still be debated in Parliament and then voted on by the Spanish people in a nation-wide referendum next year before it becomes law.
The 153 articles of the draft, while defining many aspects of Spain's new democracy such as the freedom of political expression, the rights of regional autonomies, and the abolition of torture, simply states: "The Spanish State is nonconfessional. It guarantees religious liberty ..." (Article 3).
The bishops state that this article insufficiently describes the role of the Church in contemporary Spain.
The Constitution should include "a constructive appraisal of the significance of the Catholic Church in Spain, in terms of its reciprocal independence from the State and of the possibility of working together with the State on certain matters of common interest."
The bishops are critical of the draft for omitting any condemnation of abortion.
They state that the Constitution should include a reference to the defence of all human life "from the womb to the point of death against any attacks which threaten it whether it is disguis ed in compassionate love, political ideals, or cold-blooded science."
The bishops also demand a reference in the Constitution to the defence of the Christian Family. they state: "The stability of marriage and of the integral development of the family . . . should by right be protected by law." The Constitution should also confirm the right of parents to send their children to Churchrun schools, the bishops add.
They claim that unless the draft of the Constitution is changed, "it will not correspond sufficiently to the religious reality of the Spanish people."
There has been mixed and heated reaction to the bishops' disagreement with the draft. A leading article in Spain's fastest-selling daily El Pais accuses the hierarchy of interfering in political affairs.
Spain's leading Catholic newspaper Ya, however, defends the bishops and attacks the draft for being unrealistic. The Constitution should recognise that the majority of Spanish people were deeply rooted in the Christian Faith, the paper States, The government has sent to Spain's parliament, a budget for 1978 which includes more than £40 million to subsidise Church work. The sum includes provisions for a uniform salary of £100 a month for parish priests, changing past practices of uneven distribution of funds.
The proposed sum is assigned to the Ministry of Justice and Worship, but it will be administered by the Spanish Bishops' Conference.