Spain and Vatican smoothe over differences (1st Lead)

Feb 4, 2009, 11:25 GMT

Madrid - Spain's Socialist government and the Vatican attempted to patch up their differences on Wednesday, as Pope Benedict XVI's Secretary of State visited the Catholic country whose growing secularization worries the church.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos highlighted the 'many agreements' between Spain and the Vatican on the Gaza conflict, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two also discussed the Alliance of Civilizations project, launched by Spain and Turkey to increase dialogue between the West and the Muslim world.

Bertone was also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, his deputy Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega and King Juan Carlos.

Bertone arrived in Spain on Tuesday to give a lecture at the invitation of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, in what was billed as a private visit but was rapidly turning into a high-profile unofficial state visit.

Bertone's visit was described by the Spanish press as the first 'political' one to Spain by a Vatican secretary of state, regarded as the Pope's 'prime minister.' Spain's traditionally staunch Catholicism is now competing against a growing secularization.

The Vatican and the Zapatero government were expected to downplay disagreements and to attempt to improve relations which have suffered due to the government's liberal social reforms.

After Zapatero became prime minister in 2004, Spain granted homosexual couples full marriage rights, and has eased divorce laws - in moves that prompted Spanish clergymen to attend massive rallies in defence of the traditional family.

Prior to Bertone's visit, Spain's Supreme Court rejected a request by Catholic activists to permit schoolchildren to boycott new 'citizens' education' classes - which they saw as promoting secular or socialist values.

The Vatican itself, however, is thought to disapprove of the Spanish bishops' combative strategy, and Bertone was expected to adopt a conciliatory tone.

On the eve of Bertone's visit, the ruling Socialists rejected a string of initiatives from far-left parties that would have highlighted friction with the church.

Those initiatives included revisiting the financial privileges of the Catholic Church, which continues to receive hefty subsidies from state coffers.

The government is also in no hurry to legalize euthanasia, a move it has been considering. It postponed the presentation of a draft for a more liberal abortion law until after Bertone's visit.

'We are fed up,' said Joan Tarda of the Catalan republican party ERC, one of the leftist parties that accused the Socialists of giving in to pressure by the church.

The Vatican has long been concerned about what Spanish bishops describe as militant secularism in Spain, and its influence in Europe and Latin America.

Spain is officially a secular state, but smaller faiths such as Protestants and Muslims complain about the financial privileges enjoyed by the Catholic Church.

Nearly 80 per cent of Spaniards are still officially Catholic, but less than 30 per cent of those Catholics attend church outside social events such as baptisms and weddings.