Spain allows feminists marches while still restricting all forms of worship
The Spanish authorities still maintain severe restrictions on public meetings and also religious services. In late February, it was officially announced that public marches with up to five hundred participants will be allowed on the 8th of March (International Women's Day) which was demanded by feminist groups.
At the same time, restrictions have already been announced for Holy Week celebrations and other church-related festivals on the grounds that Holy Week processions are riskier than Women’s Day marches.
Fr. Francisco José Delgado criticised the official decisions, saying that they were not primarily a matter of health policy: “The Ministry of Health advises against these marches, showing this is more about the political confrontation between the political parties in the government than from a real concern for the health of the people, which has been missing in the decisions that have been made since the pandemic started”.
“Allowing these demonstrations is a farce for all of us citizens who are complying with the imposed measures, and it constitutes a shameful double standard (…) we are already hearing 24/7 that this year we must act as if ‘Holy Week does not exist,'” commented another Spanish priest, Fr. Juan Manuel Góngora
“We Catholics must stop being timid before sectarian rulers, we should act with courage and claim our right to express publicly our faith while respecting sanitary measures, those that truly respond to the requirements of healthcare but which others are using under that guise to restrict freedom,” Góngora explained.
Source and image: intoleranceagainstchristians.eu
