PROSPECTS IN 'SPAIN "
SIR,—May I add a brief statement on the religious situation in Spain to the clear outline given by Don Salvador de Madariaga on Spanish affairs? General Franco recently, in an interview in Madrid with an Associated Press correspondent, said: "There was no racial trouble in Spain. The Jews were not persecuted here, nor was any other religion. There is religious freedom for all in Spain." In the interests of true freedom, the British public ought to know that -what General Franco understands by religious freedom is quite different from what is understood by English- speaking peoples, as also by others. The "Bill of Rights " (Fuero de los Esparioles) provides for " freedom of religious belief," but bars all religious rites and ceremonies except those of Roman Catholicism.
In October, 1945, a Government Order was issued which began as follows: " In accord with Article -6 of the Bill of Rights for Spaniards, liberty of worship (claws) is now established (queda establecida) for all dissident churches in the whole of National territory, provided that services are held inside the buildings with no public manifestation." This means in practice that not -even an external sign that the building is a place of worship can be used. No propaganda is allowed, and I understand that the circulation of the Scriptures by the British and Foreign Bible Society is still forbidden. The publication of the above order was taken advantage of by the various Protestant Churches, nine-tenths of whose buildings had been closed since 1939. We hear of some that have been reopened for worship, but we also hear of a number that have not yet been restored to their owners in spite of repeated applications. In a few cases these are British property, and so far diplomatic protests have been
ignored.—I am, Sir, yours faithfully, H. M. GoocH, General Secretary, World's Evangelical Alliance. 30 Bedford Place, Russell Square, W.C. .r.
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