The bishop of Orihuela-Aliante (Spain), Mons. José Ignacio Munilla, defends that the Government of Pedro Sánchez “has had to give in” in its initial claims for the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen “because the Church has remained firm.”
The main objectives of “resignification” proclaimed by the Government of Spain were the desacralization of sacred spaces, the expulsion of the community of Benedictine monks and the withdrawal of religious symbols, among others.
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During his usual Monday broadcast on Radio María Spain, the Spanish prelate approached the controversy raised around the conversations held between the Executive and representatives of the Catholic Church about the future of the enclosure, the role of the faithful who have manifested against these actions and the singular figure of the Benedictine expior P. Santiago Cantera.
Mons. Munilla contextualized that the enclosure in question “is state -owned, non -ecclesial” and that, therefore, “the government would have the power to close the Valley of the Fallen,” as happened in 2010.
If he has not done so, it has been, in his opinion, because “they will always do what he has most in the revenue of popularity” and because to their Catholic voters “they had the fact that the Government takes a basilica and a monastery.”
Thus, “as is the case that the Church has not yielded in that (…) Then they intend to sell their victory in resignification,” the prelate continued, which considers that this story constitutes a manipulation because “they want to give the impression that they need the consent of the Church to make that resignification and it is not so.”
Los Agreements between the Catholic Church and the Spanish State signed in 1979 They establish that “the places of cult are guaranteed their inviolability in accordance with the laws. They cannot be demolished without being previously deprived of their sacred character. In the case of their forced expropriation, the competent ecclesiastical authority will be heard before.”
Mons. Munilla denounces a government manipulation strategy
The Spanish prelate criticized on the other hand the leaks about the conversations held between the government and the ecclesiastical authorities in Madrid and Rome, stressing that in the Executive “they are teachers of manipulations” that has managed to transform “a factual defeat” into “a media victory.”
In his opinion, this strategy has achieved a triple effect, consisting of “distracting public opinion by stirring anticlericalism” to divert attention that the government is in a situation of “maximum fragility, cornered by its internal scandals.”
Second, government filtration would be oriented to “turn its defeats into triumphs.” In this sense, he contributed examples of leftist media that have affected the government in the result of the conversations with the Catholic Church, given their initial maximum approaches.
These criticisms of media close to the Executive constitute a proof that the accusations would be “false” that “the Church has been a coward”, which “has yielded in everything” or that “has not defended the honor of sacred places.”
Finally, Mons. Munilla said that the Government has managed to “divide the Catholics so that some have put the CEE, the Santa Headquarters or the Secretary of State. Instead of demonstrating before the Moncloa (headquarters of the Presidency of the Executive), they go and manifest before the Church”.
“Unfair” insults towards bishops
The prelate also exposed on the role played by the Catholic Church that, without having been “in the small print” of the negotiations, “surely there will be things that we could have done better.”
However, he emphasized that “it is totally unfair to hear insults and see painted against Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, against the president of the EEC or against the Vatican Secretary of State.”
“Those who do that do not know what they are talking about and I think they have fallen into the trap” of the government, he concluded.
Praise of Father Santiago Cantera
On the other hand, Mons. Munilla has praised the role played by which it has been until a few days ago prior to the Benedictine community of the Valley of the Fallen, P. Santiago Cantera, underlining that “he is the man who has given Spain the moral lesson he needed.”
“The government asked for his head and he has voluntarily taken a temporarily.” Although Munilla has stated that he does not know if his relay at the head of the community, “has left him or has been suggested in the midst of negotiation,” he emphasized that it is a “wonderful, powerful and bright testimony.”
Second weekend of mass mobilizations in the valley
For the second consecutive weekend, access to the Valley of the Fallen was collapsed last Sunday due to the influx of hundreds of people who went to the enclosure to fulfill the Sunday precept and express with their presence their support to the Benedictine community and the preservation of the enclosure as a place of prayer and reconciliation.
Some of those present also deployed a large banner in which we could read “we will rebuild everything they demolish.”
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Nicolás de Cárdenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish and journalist’s husband and father with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specialized in socio -political and religious information. I have worked more than 10 years in defense of human rights and I have accreditations in journalism and comprehensive communication. Since July 2022, I am a correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.