Clash between the Spanish government and the Church over the Cerdán case

BarcelonaThe pressure on Sánchez to end his term continues. The president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Luis Argüello, has joined the right and has been calling for early elections for days so that they can "speak to the citizens" in the face of the alleged corruption cases affecting the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). This position was echoed this morning by the religious institution's secretary general, Francisco César García Magán, who asserted that elections would be "a way out of the institutional deadlock." The Archbishopric of Tarragona and the Bishopric of Lleida distance themselves from this statement, and the Spanish government has already responded to the message, accusing the Church of "departing from political neutrality" in a letter signed by the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, and addressed to the president of the Episcopal Conference.

This morning, at the press conference following the meeting of the Episcopal Conference's standing committee, which brings together bishops from across Spain, García Magán emphasized that Argüello maintains that the Constitution provides for "different instruments" to force changes in the Spanish government. These are the motion of censure, which the PP has already ruled out because it lacks sufficient support for it to succeed, and the vote of confidence, which depends entirely on Sánchez. However, when consulted by ARA, the Archbishopric of Tarragona assures that, during this week's meeting of the standing committee, Argüello made no reference to the Cerdán case. In fact, they confess that Joan Planellas was "strange" that it was not discussed, and they complain that Argüello and García Magán are sticking to their guns: "They cannot speak on behalf of the bishops because there has been no consensus."

Sources from the archdiocese insist that the Church "has no place" in taking positions like this, because the institution "should not interfere in politics." This idea is also being put forward by the Lleida bishopric, which states that in political terms it has "nothing to say." It does not believe it has to make any assessment or comment and simply says that if Argüello has expressed a position, it is his responsibility to respond. The Barcelona archdiocese, contacted by ARA, does not wish to comment on the matter at this time.

Bolaños counterattacks

In response to the ecclesiastics' position, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, has gone on the attack. In a letter to Argüello, he accused the bishops of wanting a government that steers clear of issues uncomfortable for the Church: "I can also understand that the Episcopal Conference desires a change of government so that debates on reparations for victims of abuse within the Church or the classification of abuses for you can be held," he said.

Bolaños also asserts that "it is not the first time" in the history of Spain that the bishops have aligned themselves with "right-wing and far-right" parties—despite asserting that they act outside of "partisan interests"—and regrets that the Conference did not raise an outcry over the scandals. Furthermore, he criticizes Argüello for having participated in an event with Santiago Abascal where, according to Bolaños, the "suppression of the rights of women, artists, and the LGBTI community" was advocated. In this regard, he criticizes them for the lack of "political neutrality" that he believes the institution should maintain. The minister ends the letter by reiterating the government's "firm will" to maintain dialogue with the Church on the pending issues that the Spanish government intends to address "over the course of the remaining two years of the legislature."