Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Fides Service) - “The demonstration on Saturday 12 November showed that Spain has a new social movement which produces realistic alternative and coherent proposals. A movement which feels no fear or shame taking part in public life and is conscious of the impact of its presence in the media and its political importance of representing thousands of families whose rights are systematically trampled on”: said Eduardo Hertfelder, President of Spain’s Family Policy Institute, one of many organisations which supported the demonstration to protest against a proposed new Education Law. What is more “international support, even greater than support given to the pro-family demosntration on 18 June, shows that this international reaction is not passing, indeed it is growing”. This last event, said Eduardo Hertfelder, “is a sign of growing social discontent with a government which acts behind the back of society legislating with repressive laws on the family, parents and education”.
According to the organisers Saturday’s protest was successful beyond all expectations and was a public declaration that the law is rejected by parents. Demonstrators travelled to Madrid in 600 special buses, by rail by air from all over Spain. They filled the main squares and roads of the capital and marched from Plaza Netuno to Puerta Alcalá. The protest was organised by about a dozen confederations, unions and associations of schools and families has was backed by 900 associations not only in Spain. A ‘manifesto for quality education in freedom’ read at the end of the event affirmed that “public authorities have no right to educate citizens they have the duty to guarantee the freedom of parents to decide within the limits of the constitution how children are education”, because education is the responsibility and the right of parents. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2005, righe 23, parole 328)
