Autor: Burleigh, Michael

Buch: Sacred Causes

Titel: Sacred Causes

Stichwort: Krise der Kirche (Spanien); Statistik

Kurzinhalt: The Jesuits lost a third of their members in a decade; the majority of Catholic clergy espoused political positions that were congruent with those of the semi-Marxist intelligentsia

Textausschnitt: 367a The Church itself was in crisis. Religious vocations plummeted. In 1963 some 167 priests had opted for the secular life; by 1965 that had reached 1,189, and then an all-time high of 3,700 four years later. The Jesuits lost a third of their members in a decade. In the Basque country and Catalonia, many priests made common cause with local autonomists, inexcusably including the Marxist terrorist organisation ETA, while others exchanged their spiritual vocation for various forms of social radicalism, making fiery sermons and taking part in protests that often ended in violence. According to a survey conducted in 1977, apart from an intransigent minority, the majority of Catholic clergy espoused political positions that were congruent with those of the semi-Marxist intelligentsia. The Church's espousal of social radicalism meant such novelties as a 'Concordat jail' at Zamora, to hold priests who had stepped too far out of line, and the growth of extreme right-wing anticlericalism directed against the 'Communist pope' and the 'Red clergy'. By the late 1960s financial scandals involving Opus Dei enabled the diehard Falangists to revenge themselves on the organisation, a further sign of growing alienation between the Church and the regime.1 (Fs)