Spanish bishops’ spokesman says no to “false diplomacy” of remaining silent

Madrid, Spain, Feb 5, 2008 / 17:04 pm

In an article published by the newspaper “La Razon,” the general secretary of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino of Madrid, defended the obligation of the bishops to offer moral guidance in accordance with the Catholic faith and said it would be wrong if they did not speak out because of “fear” or “false diplomacy.”

Last Thursday the bishops issued a guide to voters entitled “Faith, Morality and Politics,” which Bishop Martinez said is based on a pastoral instruction from November 2006 entitled, “Moral Guidance for the Current Situation in Spain.”  The new guide does not endorse or promote a particular party or candidate—as some in the government have suggested—but rather provides guidance in a much wider sense, the bishop said.

Bishop Martinez clarified that the Church has never sought to impose her principles, and when she makes recommendations she does not do so thinking of one and two of her moral principles.  The bishops’ guide, therefore, does not include “recipes” or “political orders,” but rather is intended to encourage responsible voting by distinguishing between fundamental principles of good and evil, which can be done thanks to the faith, he stressed.