EUROPE/SPAIN - “Families and Catholics in Spain have taken to the streets and there is talk of a world campaign to protect the family” President of the Spanish Institute for Family Policies tells Fides

Madrid (Fides Service) - “We can say that there are positive and negative aspects” Eduardo Hertfelder, President of the Spanish Institute for Family Policies IPF with regard to the present situation in Spain since amendements to the law introduced by the government to give homosexual unions the same status as marriage was passed by parliament. "The positive aspect is the reaction of the people. The pro-family demonstration on June 18 was a great success. Neither we nor the government expected such a united reaction. Families and Catholics in Spain have taken to the streets no longer afraid of feeling ashamed to be in public. The government thought it could make these reforms without meeting opposition but thank God there is reaction from society, movements and the Church. People realise that these measures will have serious consequences for the future and therefore it is impossible to be indifferent. We must protect the family. International support and reaction was enormous and there is talk of a world campaign to protect the family”.
As Eduardo Hertfelder explained the government has introduced a serious of reforms which undermine both the family and marriage, including ‘express’ divorce process which promotes the right of repudiation and an ambiguous law on homosexual marriage which says marriage is a union of people, not two people and this opens the path for polygamy. Another proposed law on unions which could promote polygamy will soon be discussed probably in September. Another proposal, the IPF President continued, is for unlimited abortion. For the moment there is a move to replace surgical abortion with the day after pill so as to reduce the number of abortions and say that less women are aborting. This law will change the constitution which up to now says every person has the right to life. Whereas the new law considers the mother’s right to abort more important than the unborn daby’s right to live.
“Our principal occupation at the moment is to appeal to denounce the unconstitutionality of the law on homosexual ‘marriage’. The Council of State and the General Council of Judicial Power the main constitional organs which offer the government juridical assistance have referred to article 32 of the Spanish Constitution which guarantees the right of every man and woman to marry. We are pressing the Popular Party to launch an appeal: it is the only one which can do so because it can rely on the 50 members of parilament necessary for appealling to the Constitutional Court”.
Mr Herfelder also continues to ask for a meeting with the government: “We have received no relpy. We do not expect anything to come of the meeting, but if we are received it would mean that families are a valid interlocutor”. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 12/7/2005, righe 38, parole 532)