Spain's governing Socialist Workers' Party plans to change the country's laws on religious freedom, to pursue a more secular approach, the ABC newspaper reports. The Spanish government under Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has clashed frequently with the country's Catholic bishops, on issues including abortion, same-sex marriage, and religious education.
In February, after the bishops issued a statement on the responsibilities of Catholic voters in the country's national elections, leaders of the Socialist Workers' Party loudly protested that the bishops' document was designed to harm their party's electoral chances.
The party's president, José Blanco, threatened that the government might take retaliatory measures, eliminating "privileges" enjoyed by the Catholic Church, if it won re-election.
The Zapatero government won a solid electoral victory in March.
The main opposition party, the People’s Party, opposes any changes to the law on religious freedom.
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