The Church and the Spanish Civil War: New Contributions
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60
Nothing characterized the Spanish Civil War as much as religious passion. This paper does not present a table of the atrocities committed. It sets out instead to show how the French press, and more particularly the press in Toulouse, which served as an excellent observation post on events in Spain, furnished support to one side or the other in the conflict. Apart from the Basque priests, there were few members of the Spanish clergy who failed to support the military, whether in gold or in blessings, with appeals to the rebel troops that included Muslims, to exterminate their enemy. “We find ourselves in a veritable Crusade,” announced the Primate of Spain. The Republican cause, he added, is “war against God”, leading the Socialist press to cry out, “The Fascist Pope has hands that drip with blood”. Certainly Pius the Twelfth did not hesitate to express his “immense joy” upon the final victory of Franco, and duly awarded the Caudillo the Supreme Order of Christ. For all that, the conscience of Christianity had not lost its voice. Certain members of the clergy, led by Dom Luigi Sturzo, and especially the laity, led by Bernanos, Vandervelde, Maritain, and Mauriac, stepped forth to save the Church’s honor. Remorse found its voice at last in 1971, when the bishops of Spain confessed their fault at having forsaken their Christian duty.
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