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The Spanish bishops have expressed “great concern” about Spain’s draft organic law on education (LOE), because they believe it does not take into due account the freedom of parents to choose the right education for their children. “The law assigns to the public administration a power aimed at turning the State into the sole educator”, says a statement put out at the end of the recent meeting of the Permanent Council of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference in Madrid (27-29 September). The bishops oppose the draft law because “it does not respect the freedom of teaching”, nor the freedom of parents to choose the religious and moral education for their children”. They therefore appeal, on behalf of parents, for “more decision-making capacity, more educational pluralism and more power”. The bishops recall that “80% of parents are favourable to the teaching of Catholic religion for their children” and believe that it is a fundamental subject on the school curriculum that should be compulsorily offered by all schools and be optional for students”. The Spanish bishops also express “apprehension” about the new subject that the present government intends to introduce into the curriculum, namely “education in citizenship”, because it could be to the detriment of “ideological and religious liberty”. Concern is also felt for the position of teachers of religion: if the new law is approved, they would become “employees of the Church”, a situation the Church opposes, because she is of the view that it is the State that ought to support the cost of such teachers. The Spanish Bishops’ Conference is willing to enter into dialogue with the government on these questions, but notes that “unfortunately there has been no response to the repeated offer of dialogue”.
