Ana Munoz, 20, student, Atheist, Madrid and London
“I don’t see how a million extra tourists in Spain could be in any way an economic burden for the central and regional governments. It’s putting Spain in the spotlight - and this time not because of our poor economic situation or unemployment rate.”
“I was in town when the protests were happening - and from what I saw the focus was on religion, rather than the cost of the visit.”
“Most of the placards I saw were against the Pope or Christian beliefs. People were shouting harsh things at the pilgrims, referring to the Pope as a “Nazi”. They were also flying communist and Republican flags.”
“I saw two gay men trying to provoke a priest by kissing and taunting him.”
“I am an atheist but I expect people to respect those with faith. By tradition and by majority, Spain is Catholic. A lot of our culture is based on religion.”
“In a way it is not surprising. I feel that the youth movements such as the indignants have been radicalised by those with anti-religious feelings.”
“The Socialist Party, which has been in the government for the past seven years, has had a very clear anti-Christian agenda.”
“This has created an even wider division in society as we are told to negate our religious culture and tradition for the sake of “modernity”.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14582213
Alicia Lopez, 32, unemployed (protestor), Madrid
“I joined the demonstration against the Pope’s visit. The main issue is the cost of the visit, especially at a time when the government is slashing social spending.”
“One Church has taken over the whole city”
“Where is all the money coming from? I don’t believe all the money has been raised privately. And they’ve opened up state facilities for use by the Church - for example schools for pilgrims to sleep in.”
“I’m also against the prominence this has given to the Catholic Church. One Church has taken over the whole city. Spain is a non-confessional state, there is no official religion in this country and we should not give so much support to the Catholic Church.”
“I witnessed confrontation between protesters and pilgrims - but from what I saw it was the pilgrims who were doing the provoking.”
“The path of the demonstration took us through the central Sol Square but when we came to it there were pilgrims there. They shouted slogans such as “This square belongs to the Pope” and “This is the youth of Pope” and “This is the youth of Spain”.”
“The police moved them from Sol, but many remained on the roads leading to the central square. Some of the pilgrims continued to shout slogans, which provoked protesters to shout back.”
“As I left the protest with my placard calling for a secular state, a middle-aged woman shouted at me saying I was the shame of Spain.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14582213
And thanks for spotting that fine and thoughtful statement from atheist Ana Munoz.
"This one is not far from the Kingdom."
The Spanish press is now saying about 2 million people attended the mass. This is about twice as many as were expected; even with the earlier number, Madrid was expected to make about $100 million on the event, so it looks as if they made even more than that. Judging by the spending I saw going on today, I´d say they made a lot more than that!
A lot of the unanticipated people who attended were adults from all over Spain. This has been a real shot in the arm for the Spanish Church, and people I have talked to have said that they don´t feel defensive and afraid anymore, they´ve seen their fellow believers from all over the world, they´ve seen the Pope and have listened to him and seen his faith, and suddenly they´re feeling confident in a way they haven´t felt ever before, or certainly not for almost 50 years, in the case of older people.
While Vatican II had many good things about it, unfortunately it was often interpreted as a rejection of the past and even of traditional faith, and this inspired the left to embark on an all-out campaign to destroy a weakened Church. The Spanish do things in a very whole-hearted way, so it has been particularly vicious in Spain, and the addition of gays to the mix has really put it over the top. So this was a wonderful moment for the average Spanish believer, and I don´t think the left has the upper hand anymore.