The pope has apparently begun ensainting Franco’s clergy (or whatever the word is for declaring them to have been “saints” rather than “active supporters of a dictator who overthrew a democratically elected government by force.” Think Guernica). According to the Times,<\/a> a fight broke out<\/p>\n

outside a church in Rome yesterday after the Pope beatified 498 priests and nuns killed in the Spanish Civil War.
\nMembers of the congregation attacked left-wing protesters carrying a banner that read: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Those who have killed, tortured and exploited cannot be beatified.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Franco? The 1930s fascist who clung on to power for decades by the simple expedient of not joining his fascist chums in the Second World War. According to the Times, again,<\/p>\n

Bands of Communist and Anarchist irregulars on the Republican side burnt churches and killed thousands of priests and nuns. Falangist death squads executed tens of thousands of Spaniards suspected of harbouring leftist sympathies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, if we are stacking up bodies to measure levels of atrocity, it looks as if even the Times sees that Franco’s toll was the highest.<\/p>\n

This isn’t just a historical point, there are current resonances.<\/p>\n

The country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Socialist Government has clashed repeatedly with the Roman Catholic Church. The Prime Minister, Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Luis Rodr\u00c3\u008dguez Zapatero, whose grandfather was executed by Franco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forces, has caused howls of protest from conservatives after introducing a law aimed at redressing the injustices suffered by victims of the regime. Among other measures, the law orders the removal of any symbols of the dictatorship, which arguably include the shrines in many Spanish churches to the dead on Franco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s side. Republican victims still lie in dozens of unmarked mass graves around the country.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why draw the line in Spain? Why not go the distance and start beatifying the Ruandan clergy involved in promoting genocide.<\/p>\n

Doesn’t this act seem like calculated provocation with the Pope intervening to show which side he’s on in the current climate?<\/p>\n

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    The pope has apparently begun ensainting Franco’s clergy (or whatever the word is for declaring them to have been “saints” rather than “active supporters of a dictator who overthrew a democratically elected government by force.” Think Guernica). According to the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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