Spanish Reactions
Juan Antonio MartÃnez Camino, the secretary-general of the Spanish bishops, replied to criticism that the martyrs were old fashioned conservatives: The first martyrs of the Church died, after they were labeled as traitors of the Roman Empire and during the French Revolution, Catholic priests were defined as enemies of the revolution. The Spanish victims were considered an obstacle to historical progress.
The Spanish bishops stated that Spanish society is threatened by secularism. The 498 Martyrs were thus a reminder of other values. "their beatification intends first of all to render glory to God for the faith which conquers the world" The bishops organized a national pilgrimage to Rome, the place of the beatification of the 498 Martyrs, and the martyrdom of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
Read more about this topic: 498 Spanish Martyrs
Famous quotes containing the words spanish and/or reactions:
“Its like a jumble of huts in a jungle somewhere. I dont understand how you can live there. Its really, completely dead. Walk along the street, theres nothing moving. Ive lived in small Spanish fishing villages which were literally sunny all day long everyday of the week, but they werent as boring as Los Angeles.”
—Truman Capote (19241984)
“We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our deeds have denied beliefs we thought were ours.”
—James Baldwin (19241987)