From September Spanish schools will for the first time have teachers of Moslem religion for Moslem pupils, whose numbers are growing. “It seems to me logical and sensible that this should be so”, Carlos de Francisco Vega, head of the Secretariat of Interconfessional Relations of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, explained to SIR. According to De Vega, “it is a constitutional right that parents can choose a form of religious and ethical teaching in conformity with their own convictions. This right already existed, because it is enshrined in the Constitution, but had not yet been put into practice [for Muslims] because there weren’t enough pupils”. But now, he added, “the time has come in Spain to apply this right, given that there are now sufficient pupils”. Since 1992 the Spanish government has established Accords with the Spanish Islamic communities, but these have not yet been totally implemented. “Being able to choose a social and moral teaching in conformity with one’s own convictions concludes De Vega is a right that meets with the support of the Catholic Church: religious liberty is everyone’s right”.
