The Archdiocese of Madrid has appealed for a “proper resolution” of the dispute over the planned reburial of the dictator, General Francisco Franco (1892-1975), after the new government ordered his remains to be exhumed.
“The Catholic Church wants to preserve its political independence, fostering a spirit of concord among all Spaniards and cultivating prayer for coexistence in peace, justice and freedom,” the archdiocese said in a statement. “It is not our duty to assess the convenience or urgency of any legal measure. But we are ready to welcome the remains of a baptised person in sacred ground, and we hope the opportunity still exists for agreement.”
The statement follows a decree in August from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government, directing Franco’s exhumation from the Valley of the Fallen, near Madrid, under amendments to Spain’s 2007 Historical Memory Law. The Church said it would not attempt to block the order, which awaits final parliamentary approval, but had “insisted from the first moment” that issues around the reburial should be “properly resolved with the greatest possible consensus”.
The communications director of the archdiocese, Rodrigo Pinedo Texidor, told The Tablet that church leaders “neither oppose removing Franco nor keeping him where
he is” but have “to be consulted, under the state’s agreements with the Vatican, on matters relating
to burials”.
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