Official mourning for the Pope's death: Is it compatible with a secular state?

BarcelonaCondolences for the death of Pope Francis have spread throughout the world. The government replicated this decision in Catalonia, which has affected official events commemorating Sant Jordi. Is a declaration of national mourning for the death of a religious figure possible in a state like Spain, which is secular?

Spanish Constitution, maintaining cooperative relations with the Catholic Church—the only one explicitly mentioned—and the other denominations. "The Constitution does not recognize any religion as a state religion, but it does positively value religion." This is what the Constitutional Court has established," explains Pablo Nuevo, a professor of constitutional law at the Abat Oliba CEU University.

But there is still one more factor that could justify the decision, according to Iván Aybar, a professor of law at the UAB: "We must not forget that the Pope represents the Vatican State, with which the Spanish State maintains bilateral relations." pontiff The kings have already confirmed their attendance of Spain, as well as Vice Presidents María Jesús Montero and Yolanda Díaz and the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños (although not the Spanish President, Pedro Sánchez). Continuing with this argument, the declaration of official mourning could even have a place within a secular state if it is adopted "from the perspective of international relations between sovereign states," the jurist emphasizes.

"On a legal level, there is absolutely no compatibility problem," corroborates Camil Ungureanu, a professor of political philosophy at UPF. "A more delicate problem is the political one. Clearly, here the decision of the Council of Ministers is a political decision," adds the expert, who also emphasizes that in the Spanish case, the "exemplary nature" of Francis and his defense of moral values have been taken into account. "The justification is secular," he affirms. This is precisely what the PSC government defended in response to criticism from the CUP and ERC regarding the decision: "Its influence surpasses the Christian world," responded Silvia Paneque, a minister and spokesperson for the Catalan government.

The Sant Jordi mass at the Palau

In Catalonia, the declaration of three days of mourning for the Pope's death has coincided with another decision that may border on non-denominationalism: the inclusion of Mass in the Sant Jordi Chapel at the Palace of the Generalitat in the government's program of events for the day. Until now, this Mass was held behind closed doors, with only politicians who wished to attend.Isla himself attended last year, before becoming president.–. This year, the government had announced that the entire Mass would be broadcast on an institutional signal, but the ceremony was ultimately held in private as a sign of mourning for the death of Francis. In any case, the president of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, justified the inclusion of the Mass in the official calendar by the Christian resonance of Sant Jordi's Day. "It's not so much an institutional Mass. The government is non-denominational and has the utmost respect for all faiths. Now, we must not deny our Christian roots either," Illa stated. in dialogue with the writer Javier Cercas.

What do the experts say? For Aybar, decisions like this demonstrate that, in Spain and Catalonia, there are still institutions that act as if the model of relations with religions were more "that of a sociological confessional state." Nuevo sees no problem, as long as attendance by authorities, political leaders, and the armed forces is optional. This is, he maintains, the only limit imposed by the Spanish Constitution. Ungureanu believes that the "democratic justification" for this decision is an "open debate." He also points to another aspect: the struggle between the left and the right to uphold religious values. One example is Donald Trump's attendance at Pope Francis' funeral: the American president boasts about attending despite having been openly belligerent toward the Pope's social agenda. "We are in the midst of a culture war. And we'll see what happens and who the next Pope will be," Ungureanu points out. The conclusion, he summarizes, is that the left does not want to leave religion (nor the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world) in the hands of reactionary forces.