Maybe Franco doesn't belong on this list, but his influence is of enormous value to Catholics. Its "inside baseball", so much of the world has failed to grasp what was taking place in Spain in the 30's.
On May 14, 1931 The London Times reported a debate at the Ateneo Club in Madrid to discuss a political program; its eight points were as follows:
1. Creation of a Republican dictatorship.
2. Immediate punishment of all responsible for illegal acts under the dictatorships.
3. Disbanding of the Civil Guard and the Army, police, and their substitution by armed Republicans chosen from the laboring classes and Republican clubs.
4. Confiscation of property of religious orders.
5. Nationalization of land.
6. Suppression of all press organs hostile to the Republican government.
7. Utilization of technical schools and other buildings for the public good.
8. Postponement of the Cortes until this program had been carried out.
On May 10, 1931, the attack on the Church was commenced and the Jesuit Church of the Calle de la Flor in Madrid was burned. The crowd flaunted the red banner of Russia rather than the yellow, red, and purple of the new Republic. The mob then proceeded to burn the Church of the Carmelite Fathers, the residence of the Jesuits, the Mercedarian Convent, and the College of Maravillas.
By the time the war was over the total number of Catholic priests and religious martyred was 6,832. This total included 4,184 diocesan clergy, 2,365 male regular clergy and religious, and 283 nuns. This clerical bloodletting exceeded the French Revolution and the Communist Revolution in Russia.
An excerpt from The Spanish Civil War as a Religious Tragedy by Jose M. Sanchez:
"In addition to these deaths, an incalculable number of lay persons were killed because of their religious associations, either as well-known churchgoers, members of fraternal and charitable religious organizations, or as fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends of clerics. Some were killed because they professed their faith by wearing some outward symbol of belief, perhaps a religious medal or scapular. Some were killed for acts of charity, for granting refuge to clerics attempting to escape the fury."
So you see, Franco was much more than the leader of the Nationalists. He saved the Faith in Spain from people who sought to destroy every vestige of culture and tradition. The Republicans were blinded by hatred and surely would have been monstrous in their governance. |
