Nothing symbolised the battle between the Catholic Church and the Socialist government in Spain more than a religious rally at the end of last year.The event celebrated the family but the the gathering also heard a diatribe against the social reforms introduced under Prime Minister Zapatero.
At the time the Cardinal of Valencia lambasted what he called the culture of radical laicism as a fraud: "It leads to nothing but despair by the path of abortion, express divorce and ideas that manipulate the education of the young," he said.
The open hostilities began with the approval of a bill on gay marriage. Zapatero described as the end of a discrimination in Spanish society. But the Archbishop of Toledo said it was a deep wound: "As a citizen, a man, a Spaniard, it hurts me. And as a Christian who loves man, who loves society, an who wants the best for man and society, it wounds me."
Another source of anger for the bishops was the introduction of a new element to the school curriculum for 10 - 16-year-old - the education for citizenship programme.
The government says it will teach democratic values of tolerance and rights. Spain's Catholic leadership accused Madrid of undermining religious education in schools.
Then came what has been interpreted by some as a counteroffensive. The Church urged people not to vote for parties who negotiated with ETA, a clear reference to the government
A bishops' spokesman said: "A society that wants to be free and just cannot recognise, implicitly or explicitly, a terrorist organisation as a representative of whatever section of society, and it cannot have political dialogue with it."
The statement was seen a breaking a taboo against influencing voters.
The Socialists responded that according to this principle previous conservative leaders should not have been elected because they also had dialogue with ETA using, in one case, a bishop as an intermediary.
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