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Driving
the Catholic Church towards financing itself
Madrid, November 22nd, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The Socialist government has
launched a proposal to change the system whereby the Roman Catholic
Church in Spain is financed. The aim is for it to become self-financing
through the offerings of its members, just like an evangelical
congregation.
However, for a church accustomed
to living on handouts, this is a radical and frightening prospect,
not least because the ‘faithful’ are not used to
putting their hands in their pockets either. The government
wants to end the system by which the Catholic Church receives
a chunk of people’s income tax (if they so direct it).
The model to follow would be similar to German practice: “a
voluntary and additional religious tax.” The amount would
not be fixed and the system would operate equally for Protestants,
Jews and Muslims. The state would merely act as a ‘Levi’,
a tax collector.
Currently the Catholic Church receives the vast sum of 140 million
euros a year from the state, of which 105 million (last year)
came from people’s tax returns while the state topped
up the rest from the general budget. The Socialist government
wants to end this practice and introduce a system whereby each
citizen is free to apportion whatever amount he chooses, to
the religious group of his choice (out of the four mentioned),
on top of his normal taxes.
The government would introduce the system gradually so as to
ease the pain for the Catholic Church, but the top-up would
be first to go. The government considers this anti-constitutional
because it implies giving money to one particular confession
from the taxes of all. Changes are likely for 2006, although
the declarations of the Prime Minister have been rather more
moderate than those of Alvaro Cuesta, a Socialist MP who wants
to rid Spain of the current system as soon as possible.
Source. EL PAÍS. Editing: ACPress
Protestant
school in Madrid reaches 107
Madrid, November 22nd, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The ‘Porvenir’
(Future) Evangelical School in central Madrid has just celebrated
its 107th anniversary with a youth orchestra performing music
from all the periods of the school’s history.
The school is part of the Fliedner Trust, started by German
Protestant missionaries in the late 19th century. The Arcos
Orchestra is made up of school pupils and those who attended
a summer course. Most of them began playing between the ages
of 3 and 5, and have been playing together ever since. Their
first concert was in 1995, when they played at the school to
raise funds to pay for damage caused by a fire.
They have performed on other occasions, such as when they raised
money towards investigation into a serious illness which one
of their number, a violinist, suffers. Rubén Fernández,
director of the orchestra, was also once a pupil at the school
in the heroic days of hiding books to cover up what they were
really studying, of intolerance from the authorities, and of
a brave pedagogical attempt to create free thinkers in true
Protestant tradition, something which generations of students
are grateful for.
Source: F.FLIEDNER. Editing: ACPress
Protestant
perspective on 400th anniversary of Quijote
Madrid, November 24th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The Reformation Studies
Centre is getting ready for a busy year of conferences and events
all over Spain to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication
of Cervantes’ epic: ‘Don Quijote of the Mancha.’
An itinerant exhibition will be accompanied by a talk which
begins by asking if Quijote was born in Seville. In each town
visited, a different aspect of the work will be emphasised,
using the many influences left by Quijote in the art of Andalusia,
The Mancha and Valencia. Starting off with general aspects,
the Quijote’s influence on music, poetry and painting
will be examined. The main speaker at the conferences will be
evangelical historian Gabino Fernández, who includes
a section on how painters have represented Cervantes’
seminal volume. In all the places to be visited, the local municipal
authorities will participate in the events, and the main act
closes with dance and refreshments.
Source: Rafael Gómez
Pimpollo. Editing: ACPress
Spain gets its first ‘civil christening’
Igualada, November 24th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The small town of Igualada
in north-east Spain had the dubious honour recently of playing
host to the first ever ‘civil christening’ to be
held in this country.
Cello music accompanied the sprinkling of water on baby Marcel
Planell as he was ‘blessed’ with such values as
liberty, equality and respect. The media were out in force in
Igualada Town Hall where the ground-breaking ceremony was performed.
First up was the baby’s mother, Carmela Planell, who thanked
the Council for giving her son the opportunity to be welcomed
as a citizen of the community. She also found time in her speech
to express her hope that the ceremony opened the door to other
families who might want to exercise their ‘right’.
Can there be any more out there?
There must be something in the local water, for years ago in
nearby Alella, there used to be a laying-on of hands ceremony
for children, but without any formal process involved as in
the Igualada case. Mrs Planell had tried to have her son ‘civilly
christened’ in Barcelona, but according to her, the Council
there “did not want to court controversy with the (Catholic)
church.”
Civil christenings go back to Republican France, and were first
carried out in Strasbourg in July 1790. Not a great model to
emulate.
Source: EL MUNDO. Editing:
ACPress
Religion
maltreated by politicians and the Press
Barcelona, November 25th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
Religion and faith has
had a bad time since the terrorist attacks in the USA in 2001,
according to a United Nations report. Doudou Diéne, a
UN official, said they had suffered discrimination in their
treatment in the Press and by politicians.
Diéne blamed “the manipulation of religious feelings
by many political parties and the image given in the Press.”
He was speaking at a seminar in Barcelona on “The defamation
of religions and the global fight against discrimination: anti-Semitism,
Christian phobia and Islamophobia.” The thirty or so experts
who gathered for the seminar, most of them practising members
of these three religions, concluded that education and training
are the most effective tools with which to improve the situation.
The General Secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, sent
a message of support to the seminar delegates. Annan highlighted
the importance of the meeting and proposed that “Jews
should protect the rights of Muslims, Muslims support the rights
of Christians, and Christians respect the rights of Jews.”
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress
Successful
campaign to get Christmas service broadcast on TV
Barcelona, November 25th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
The Spanish Evangelical
Alliance has launched a nationwide petition calling for an evangelical
service to be broadcast by state television this Christmas.
Shortly after the launch, news came through that the request
had been granted, so the campaign is continuing on a broader
front, calling for regular radio programmes and an Easter service.
The campaign received the important backing of the European
Evangelical Alliance (which has 10 million members), and the
Federation of European Broadcasters (among whose members is
Vatican Radio). Signatures are collected at churches and on
the ProtestanteDigital website, an on-line magazine linked to
the Spanish Evangelical Alliance and the one which serves as
an international point of reference on Spanish Protestantism.
The General Secretary of the Alliance, Jaume Llenas, says: “We
are not asking for anything strange, simply to be at the same
level as other European countries. I call on all those who believe
in religious plurality in our society to support this campaign,
regardless of their beliefs.” Evangelical broadcasters
have been asking for more air-time for years. Llenas thinks
it is the right moment for evangelicals to show their appreciation
for the fact that, finally, a Christian presence in the media
is beginning to be seen as normal.
Julia Doxat-Purser, who represents the European Evangelical
Alliance in political and social matters, says the request will
help Spain “to be a plural society, where all religious
communities are accepted and respected.” Harvey Thomas,
Chairman of the Federation of European Broadcasters, commented:
“The Fellowship believes that freedom of speech, information
and the media, are basic elements of a Democracy – and
that a free, independent and responsible media plays an essential
role in every democratic society. As a whole, the media should
reflect many different views – freely expressed.
Source: AEE. Editing: ACPress
People
unhappy as Islamic classes start in schools
Melilla, November 25th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Muslims living in Madrid,
Barcelona, Andalusia and the Levante region will have the opportunity
to receive Islamic R.E. from January. Previously this was only
possible in the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
The Head of Religious Affairs, Mercedes Rico-Godoy, says some
teachers will be available from the start of next term. Places
will be limited but the government does not want to wait until
the next academic year to set the plan in motion. However, most
Spaniards disapprove strongly of the move. Three-quarters of
those interviewed considered it ‘bad’ or ‘very
bad’ that public money should be spent on imparting Muslim
education, while almost 60% said the government should control
the content of classes very carefully and ensure that the same
syllabus is taught in all schools where the classes are given.
In the current international climate, and in particular after
the Madrid bombings, Spaniards are very wary when it comes to
Islamic issues.
Source: LA RAZÓN. Editing: ACPress
The
four pillars of Religious Education
Madrid, November 25th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Religious education in
Spanish state schools is going through turbulent times. Current
legislation demands that Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim
pupils have the right to be taught their religion if they so
wish. In practice however, it is usually only Catholicism which
is taught.
Now that the Socialist government is talking of doing away with
confessional R.E., the Catholic Church is mobilising its troops
for a mass protest. Meanwhile, as reported in the previous article,
the government is extending Islamic classes where there are
appreciable numbers of Muslim pupils.
Protestant and Jewish representatives are waiting to speak to
the government regarding their situation. On the other hand,
there are others who want all R.E. removed from the normal school
timetable.
The current situation regarding the teaching of the four recognised
religions in Spain is as follows: according to episcopal figures,
last year 75% of pupils took Catholic classes, amounting to
just over 5 million students in total. The state spent more
than 600 million euros paying 17,000 teachers selected by their
local bishops. The percentage of pupils taking Catholic R.E.
has fallen by 6% in the last four years.
As for the other religions, Islamic classes have never got off
the ground on the mainland, though there are some in Ceuta and
Melilla. The Jewish community, only 50,000 strong, has not got
any teachers. It is now asking for state funds for their synagogues,
which is where they teach their children about Judaism. As for
the Protestants, 90 teachers currently give R.E. classes to
5,900 pupils, and a further 53 teachers are due to graduate
next year from the Teachers’ Training Centre for Evangelical
Education. These teachers are also paid by the state, but there
must be a minimum of 10 pupils for a class to operate.
Source: EL PAÍS. Editing:
ACPress
Catholic
Archbishop calls out the faithful
Madrid, November 25th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The Vice-President of
the Catholic Episcopate and Archbishop of Pamplona, Fernando
Sebastián, has called on the rank and file of the Catholic
Church to defend their constitutional rights as agreed in the
Accords signed between their church and the state.
Sebastián said: “The contacts and agreements between
the church hierarchy and civil powers are still valid, convenient
and even necessary. But these legal instruments will only be
apostolically (sic) effective to the extent to which they are
supported by an increasing number of lay Christians who make
these agreements count, using the resources of an organised
society democratically.” To the (legal) barricades, brothers!
Source: EL CORREO. Editing:
ACPress
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