The mixed Church-State Commission on education recently held a new meeting in Madrid on the drafts of the Royal Decrees regulating the teaching of Catholic religion and the working regime of the staff who teach it. “An effort was made to ensure that the development of the Organic Law on Education (LOE) – at first rejected by the Bishops’ Conference – be adapted as closely as possible to the rights and obligations of all the parties involved”, explains a statement issued by the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. Though “the efforts made in terms of adjustment are recognized”, says the statement, “fundamental difficulties that it has proved impossible to surmount still remain to this day”. The Bishops’ Conference had already expressed its negative opinion on the LOE, which “does not properly respect the terms of the Accords between the Holy See and the Spanish State” – say the bishops. In their view, what is at stake in the new law is “the constitutional right to religious freedom for Catholics”. The Bishops’ Conference has announced that it will present its “detailed evaluation of these questions once the Government approves the bills. It will then be possible for the executive Committee to study them with the necessary precision”.
