When Spain’s interior minister claimed the government was receiving divine intervention, an opposition party asked for clarification.
Jorge Fernandez Diaz, the minister, recently said that he was certain that Saint Teresa of Ávila was “making important intercessions” on Spain’s behalf “during these tough times”.
St Teresa, a Carmelite nun who died in 1582, is a popular saint in Spain.
This prompted a left-of-centre party in the Basque country, Amaiur, to write to the governing asking for clarification.
"In what ways does the minister of the interior think Saint Teresa of Ávila is interceding on behalf of Spain?" he asked. "Does the government believe there are other divine and supernatural interventions affecting the current state of Spain? If so, who are they?"
He also picked up on an earlier reference made by the employment minister of help coming from the Virgin of El Rocío.
"What role has the Virgin of El Rocío played in helping Spain exit the crisis?" he asked.
The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is remembered in El Rocío, near Huelva, with an annual procession drawing about one million people each year.
As well he might ask, since the rocketing unemployment rate has hit 26%, leaving one in four people seeking jobs and some 700,000 households in severe poverty.
The letter proceeded to ask about the separation of church and state in Spain today. "Does the government believe they are respecting the secular nature of the state? Does the government plan to push for a religious state?"
Spanish media recently have been questioning the division between state and church, particularly in light of the government’s plan to roll back freedom for women by restricting access to abortion.
