SPAIN:  Sparks Fly Between Church and Government
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MADRID, Jan 2  (IPS) - The Spanish Catholic Church "has strayed from  the fundamentals of democracy," said the governing socialist  party (PSOE) Wednesday, in response to harsh criticism from the  Church leadership.
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Spain's government uses a top football match to promote the EU's proposed constitution.
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VATICAN CITY - Bitter memories of Spain's Civil War were on center stage here yesterday as the Vatican put 498 slain Spanish priests and nuns from that divisive era on the path to sainthood.
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Some clergy have criticized what they regarded as the churchâs leftward drift, including the consecration of an openly gay bishop.
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The Archdiocese of Valencia, Spain, said last week more than a million people in the province of Valencia alone have signed a petition to support religion classes in public schools.
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Spain's Socialist government has made more effort than its conservative predecessor to improve relations with Gibraltar, the chief minister of the disputed British colony has said in an interview.
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In a substantial shift from traditional policy, the Catholic Church in Spain has said it supports the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS.
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A conference called to further mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims over their shared history on the Iberian peninsula has been marred by catcalling and acrimony.
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Spain's Socialist government is on the defensive just two months ahead of a general election that polls show will be closely fought following the publication last week of weak economic data.
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MADRID, Sep 23 (IPS) - Only an alliance of civilisations, religions and   cultures can bring peace to the world. This belief is shared by  a range of  public figures in Spain who represent different  positions and nationalities,  yet concur in their support for the  proposal to this effect put forward in  the United Nations by  Spanish Prime Minister JosÃ© Luis RodrÃ­guez Zapatero.
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ADRID, Spain, NOV. 11, 2004 .- The National Catholic Confederation of Parents of Families and Students (CONCAPA) criticized the government's decision to impart Islamic religion classes in public ...
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Spain's powerful Catholic Church declared war on government plans to legalise "marriage" and adoption by gay couples, denying the concept of "sexual orientation" and branding homosexual behaviour "intrinsically bad."
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Pope Benedict XVI began a brief visit to Spain by underscoring Roman Catholic Church opposition to the liberal policies of Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero&#039;s government.
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The outburst came when he met the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, and a group of Spanish bishops who were visiting the Vatican following a row over the use of condoms in tackling the Aids ...
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In Tuesday's mixed bag of a press review: Russia attempts to preserve its sphere of influence, Spain's military relationship with the US, the implications for Europe of a President John Kerry and the Catholic Church fights back.
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Spain's rival Socialists and conservatives fought to a virtual tie in local elections Sunday, highlighting the deep divisions in the country a year before national elections.
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Spain's Roman Catholic church has effectively placed itself in the frontline of political opposition to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's six month-old government by calling the first major ...