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Muslim
cleric gets prison sentence
Barcelona, January 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The Muslim cleric accused
of inciting violence against women, Mohammed Kamal Mustafa,
has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for publishing a book
which advised husbands where to hit their wives so that the
bruises would not show.
The Imam of Fuengirola was considered especially culpable because
of the influential postion he held within the Muslim community,
and that therefore his views would be taken seriously. This
is the first time in Spain that anyone has been found guilty
of this crime under sexual discrimination legislation, though
Kamal might not actually go to prison. His Defence Counsel said
he would be appealing, and that his client had only been found
guilty because of media pressure.
However, the judge thought differently, accusing Kamal of outdated
chauvinism which went against the principle of equality as enshrined
in the Constitution and which "promoted discriminatory
behaviour on the basis of gender which is intolerable and against
the law." He added that Kamal's views that the man should
be the absolute authority in the home went against modern views
of equal rights and responsibilities within marriage, and observed
that the book's readers do not live in the Arabian desert of
14 centuries ago.
Source: El País. Editing:
ACPress.net
Rome still running the show
Madrid, January 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Technically it is not
a Concordat, but in practice that is what it is. The agreements
between the Catholic Church and the Spanish state, signed 25
years ago, took the place of the 1953 Concordat and ensured
a Catholicism remained as the privileged religion in Spain.
The non-confessional nature of the new democracy was merely
theoretical. Two issues loom large today from this arrangement,
awaiting reform: the box on tax returns which allows tax-payers
to designate a fraction of their bill to the Catholic Church
or to other charitable purposes (many of them Catholic), and
the issue of R.E. in state schools.
In the 1960s, the Catholic Church sought to modify the relationship
between them and the state, and adapt the language in which
the Concordat was couched; 'In the name of the Most Holy Trinity',
it began. However, the regime of General Franco was unwilling
to alter the status quo. Franco's second-in-command, Carrero
Blanco, told Cardinal Tarancón that a divorce between the two
institutions was unthinkable after the 'crusade' they had won
in the Civil War, and after all the money which the government
had given the Church.
Time eventually caught up with the Concordat though, and in
1979 - four years after Franco's death - the new Accords came
into force, alongside the Constitution. Prior to this, the King
had declined the privilege of appointing Bishops. The Accords
included the financial arrangement whereby the state agreed
to finance the Church, though for its part, the Church accepted
the responsibility of making itself self-financing in time.
25 years on, it is very far from achieving this target, or even
of trying very hard to do so, it would seem. It receives hundreds
of millions of euros every year from the government.
As for Religious Education, the Accords state that they "respect
the basic right of parents regarding the moral and religious
education of their children in school." Religious Education
has therefore been present, and since 1999, the Catholic Church
has appointed its own 18,000 R.E. teachers, even though they
are paid by the state. This is election year in Spain and the
issue is up for grabs; the governing Popular Party - under pressure
from the Catholic Church - has reinstated R.E. as a compulsory
subject, while the opposition Socialist Party says it will go
back to the previous situation in which pupils could opt not
to take the subject. Those opting out of R.E. would not be obliged
to study another subject, but would either have a free hour
or some less academic activity.
The political Right want to keep the Accords. In fact, they
have never been kept so rigidly as they are today. The Left,
on the other hand, believe the time has come either to abolish
them or reform them. Dionisio Llamazares, Religion spokesman
for the Socialist Party, says "the Accords are neither
necessary nor helpful, as they undermine the sovereignty of
the state, and have led to inequality among the religious groups
(present in Spain)."
Source: J.M.Vidal, EL MUNDO.
Editing: ACPress.net
Education authorities approve
school transfer to Catholic group
Madrid, January 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The local education authority
in Madrid will soon approve the transfer of 'Virgen del Bosque'
Primary School from a teachers' cooperative to the ultra-traditional
Catholic group, 'Christ's Legionnaires.' There was an outcry
when the takeover occurred only 3 days into a new school year,
with no prior warning, and many parents subsequently removed
their pupils from the private school.
The decision by the authorities has been communicated to a group
formed of around 100 parents from the school who oppose the
transfer.
The group says it will appeal, as it considers the transfer
is incompatible with the principle of freedom of education which
the authorities should supervise. The parents' group believes
the Legionnaires are failing to fulfil their commitment not
to make substantial changes at the school.
Source: LA RAZÓN. Editing:
ACPress.net
Socialists
will reverse R.E. policy if they win the election
Madrid, January 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The main opposition,
the Socialist Party (PSOE), says it will make substantial changes
to the education legislation brought in by the current government,
if it wins the election in March.
Saying that education is its "basic priority", it
accuses the government's policy of being a "Counter-Reformation",
alluding to the privileges and power it has afforded the Catholic
Church, despite the lay nature of the Constitution. The PSOE
would alter the arrangements regarding Religious Education.
Instead of making it compulsory - as it will become from September
if the Popular Party remain in power - the PSOE will return
R.E. to the level of optional, with pupils choosing not to study
it given the chance to have a free period, or engage in extra-curricular
activities.
Source: ABC. Editing: ACPress.net
Homosexual group complain
at being removed from church guide
Madrid, January 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The self-styled 'Evangelical
Gay Group of Madrid' claims it is the victim of homophobic discrimination
because its name does not appear in the church guide published
annually by the Fliedner Trust, under the auspices of Europa
Press.
The guide, which lists all evangelical churches and organisations
who send in their information, is known as the 'Vademecum',
and has been published since 1903. The latest edition contains
around 1,800 entries - including contact addresses and phone
numbers, but not that of the gay group, whose spokesman - Andrés
de la Portilla - complains that this is because of homophobia.
The publishers, based at the Calatrava Christian Bookshop in
central Madrid which was founded in 1873, say the details have
been removed because of "pressure and protests" from
many evangelicals, who believe that the inclusion of a homosexual
group in a church guide is entirely inappropriate. Portilla
commented that their inclusion in the guide "is of spiritual
help and support to many (sic ) evangelical homosexuals (sic
) who suffer discrimination and rejection in their churches."
In the same vein, Portilla added that "in many evangelical
churches they do not allow us to attend services or have fellowship",
which in his view is "an attack against human rights which
is even less tolerant than the Catholic Church. It seems to
us that it is an attack on the freedom of information and religious
freedom from a Trust which, on the other hand, has always been
characterised by its independence and democratic attitude."
The Fliedner Trust was started by German missionaries in the
19th century, is a private institution, and has run a Protestant
school for more than 100 years in central Madrid where many
evangelical children have been taught. It currently owns two
schools, a hall of residence, the aforementioned bookshop, and
a Bible College also in the Spanish capital.
Source: E. PRESS. Editing:
ACPress.net
The silent murder of thousands goes on...in Spain
Madrid, January 26th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
It is an annual massacre,
a cull, not of seals, but of human beings. And it is happening
right here, in the heart of the democratic West, yet noone bats
an eyelid. It is the scourge of abortion. In Spain alone, the
latest figures suggest that around 70,000 unborn babies are
murdered every year.
The number of abortions in Spain is up 37% since 1996, in a
country where the institution most valued by people is the family.
Yet not, clearly, over-large ones, and indeed the family is
facing a crisis. The plummeting birth rate has been arrested
to some extent by the arrival of immigrants, who account currently
for 43,000 births a year. Yet the 'abortion explosion' keeps
the rate down, as a pregnancy is terminated every 7 minutes.
40% of women who abort are aged under 24, and 63% of the total
are unmarried.
The average age at which a Spanish woman has her first child
is now 31, equal highest in Europe with British women. On the
other hand, the divorce and separation rate now stands at 115,000
couples a year, which is the equivalent of a marital break-up
every 4 minutes (see following article).
Source: ABC. Editing: ACPress.net
A nation of broken families
and empty homes
Madrid, January 26th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Spain is becoming a nation
of OAPs, empty homes and broken families, according to an official
report. Since 1980, almost 4 million youngsters have been 'lost',
20% of homes consist of one person, one in five are aged over
65, and a marriage breaks up every 4 minutes.
The authors of the report - the Family Policy Institute (FPI)
- blame the government for the lack of legislation which supports
the family. Though they admit there have been "small changes",
the FPI paints a desolate picture. While the average age at
which Spanish women start a family is the equal-highest in Europe
at 31, the number of children they then have is the lowest,
at an average 1.26, well below the figure of two which it is
thought necessary to replace a generation. The European Union
average is 1.47.
As a result, Spanish homes are emptying fast. There are now
more elderly people than youngsters, one in five being over
65. Marriage break-ups have also increased by 11%, thus adding
to the number of homes made up of just one person.
Source: LA RAZÓN. Editing:
ACPress.net
Domestic murders up a third
Madrid, January 23rd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
New measures, greater
awareness in society, more places for women to find refuge and
so on, but at least 70 women were killed in Spain last year
by their partner or ex-partner - a third more than the previous
year.
52 women died in domestic disputes in 2002, according to the
Women's Institute, yet this figure went up to around 70 in 2003,
despite new legislation to protect victims which was brought
in during that year. Official figures only go up to October
2003 at present, but they register 54 deaths for the ten months
up to that date.
The increase in domestic murder comes despite new legislation
which allows a judge to place a protection order on the victim
of domestic abuse. No woman thus protected has yet died at the
hands of her partner or -ex, so time will tell whether this
measure will begin to erode the appalling death figure. According
to government statistics, at least four men were also murdered
by their partners in 2003, while the Women's Institute registers
a total of 12.
Domestic violence does not end here. A woman and her daughter
were the victims of an attack by the daughter's boyfriend, while
at least 11 of the murderers committed suicide after killing
their partners. The number of cases being reported is climbing
slowly: 42,000 by women in 2003, and 6,650 by men, all complaining
about the treatment they received from their partners.
Source: EL PAÍS. Editing: ACPress.net |
