The president of the Spanish bishops' conference, Bishop Ricardo Blazquez of Bilbao, has expressed surprise at the sharp negative reaction of leading government officials to the bishops' statement on political affairs."It is nothing new," observed Bishop Blazquez, referring to the statement in which the hierarchy called for defense of life and marriage.
He argued that the wording of the document was not nearly as dramatic as Socialist leaders had suggested.
Government officials have protested the bishops' statement-- lodging a formal complaint with the Vatican and threatening retaliatory action against church interests-- because they see the bishops as intervening in national political affairs.
Although the bishops' statement did not name any political party, the document criticized policies that have been embraced by the Socialist government.
The document was warmly received by the opposition Popular Party, which is advancing a pro-family platform as elections approach in March.
In his comments on the Spanish bishops' statement, Bishop Blazquez noted that the document released last week closely matched the contents of a similar statement released by the hierarchy in November 2006.
That earlier document, he noted, did not provoke such a strong reaction. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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