Benedict XVI bids farewell to Spain after controversial visit

Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the Sagrada Familia church as a basilica in Barcelona on Sunday, during his two-day visit to Spain. Bathed in the sunlight that streamed into Antoni Gaudí's famously unfinished building, the pope gave a long sermon in which he mediated on God as the measure of mankind and art, and made political stands on abortion and gay marriage.

In the presence of the Spanish monarchy, authorities and 3,600 people who filled the temple, the pontiff asked for state help for women and the traditional family. He went on to defend "the generous and indissoluble love between man and woman as the framework for the gestation of human life," that should be defended as "sacred from the moment of conception."

The pontiff likened "aggressive secularism" in modern-day Spain to anticlericalism in the Civil War era

As the Popemobile traveled en route to the church, hundreds of gays and lesbians protested against the papal visit with a so-called "queer kissing flashmob," which spokesman Jordi Petit described as an act to "show that love is equal in all hearts." Feminists and AIDS activists also demonstrated in the city. But around 90,000 people came out to welcome the pope according to EL PAÍS' estimations, a figure that Barcelona City Hall and the Vatican raised to 250,000.

The Holy See's spokesman Federico Lombardi tried to lessen the impact of controversial remarks made by the pope on Saturday. The pontiff likened "aggressive secularism" in modern-day Spain to anticlericalism in the 1930s Civil War era when thousands of priests and nuns were killed. Lombardi insisted that the remarks, which were made to journalists on an airplane, simply acknowledged "a confrontation between the two traditions of faith and secularism."

Despite Lombardi's statement, government spokeswoman Elena Valenciano said the pope was "gravely mistaken" in his criticism. "Zapatero's government has treated the Catholic Church better than other governments," she said. Before he began his return journey yesterday evening, Benedict XVI held a brief airport meeting with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, just back from Afghanistan. The pope plans a visit to Madrid next year for World Youth Day.

Benedict XVI had arrived in Spain on Saturday as pilgrim, shepherd and, despite assurances to the contrary from the Vatican in the days prior to the visit, as political leader. In the plane that brought him from Rome to Santiago de Compostela, he was asked about the "advance of secularism and the rapid reduction in religiosity" in the West. Ratzinger replied that the decisive battle between faith and reason will be played out in Spain. And he related the clash between faith and "aggressive secularism" of modern-day Spain to the anticlericalism of the Second Republic era.

Without referring to papers or using diplomatic language, speaking very quickly and spontaneously in Italian, the pope explained that Spain is the epicenter of the "problem of secularism in the Western world." Ratzinger believes there is a clash and illustrated the situation with a historical explanation: "Spain was always a country that generated faith," he said, "the rebirth of Catholicism in the modern age was above all thanks to Spain, where figures such as Saint Ignacio and Saint Teresa shaped the physiognomy of modern Catholicism. But it is also true that a very strong and aggressive secularism was born in Spain, as we saw in the 1930s."

And he concluded: "This dispute, or rather this clash between faith and modernity, both very vigorous, is taking place once again in Spain today." Ratzinger was repeating the central themes of his papacy: "conciliation between faith and reason", the "return to the symbiosis between faith and art" and "the issue of re-instating the family as the nucleus of society."

"The family," the pope told reporters on the airplane, moments before the Spanish army escorted him to Santiago de Compostela, "is the thing that will tell us how far we can go." The phrase sounded to some like a nod to the leader of the opposition Popular Party Mariano Rajoy, who has not committed to retaining Spain's same-sex marriage law if he comes to power.

In a way, his words served to make the disagreement between the Vatican and Spain official, something both sides have tried to avoid in recent years. Sources from José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's Socialist government said that the pope had not specifically mentioned either the prime minister or the Cabinet and so his words should not be taken as a criticism. But the guardian of the faith was clear enough. "The problem exists in all the big Western countries, but most of all in Spain," adding: "My visit to Spain is naturally a sign of love. Spain is a country that is full of dynamism, full of the strength of faith, and faith responds to those challenges that are equally present in Spain."

The militant attitude of the 84-year-old German pope, which is known as his "amiable ferocity," was clear in his polite and determined responses to journalists, and in the sermon he gave to 8,000 faithful in Santiago's Plaza Obradoiro. Secularism and the need to return God to the center of human existence peppered his speech like a mantra. Explaining to the press why he had decided to found the Papal Council for the New Evangelization, Ratzinger said: "It is universally difficult to think about the concepts of the Holy Scripture and theology, especially in the Western world with its secularism. Faith must try to reinvent itself in order to respond to the challenge of laicism."

Ratzinger clarified that there were two ideas that made sense of his weekend visit to Santiago and Barcelona: with the Camino de Santiago came the idea of pilgrimage, which he has said was key in the foundation of the European continent and helps keep faith alive. In Barcelona, where Ratzinger landed on Saturday night, he hoped to meet with "art that transcends, that is an expression of tradition and renovation of faith and beauty."

The visit to Santiago began with a certain amount of suspense. A dense fog covered the city and the Alitalia Airbus 320 landed blind with a bump. The Prince and Princess of Asturias and Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba received the pontiff in a tent erected by the new terminal while around 150 people waving white and yellow balloons shouted "Long live the Pope!" The journey into the city was surreal. The motorway and streets were deserted. There was no sign of the expected 200,000 people - the so-called "tsunami of the faithful" - only policemen.

Ratzinger visited the cathedral in the morning as a pilgrim, to the excitement of 120 Spanish bishops and scores of the 50,000 nuns who live in Spain, according to the Vatican. Several families sitting on pews applauded loudly. The Millán family had traveled from Vigo with the hope of getting a blessing for their four nice-looking, blond children. The pope entered the temple by the corridor where the Milláns waited. They were treated to a double blessing.

In the afternoon during the sung mass, the loud speaker requested that the faithful follow the proceedings in silence and refrain from shouting out slogans or waving placards. Ratzinger spoke about Europe. He called for the defense of the continent's Christian roots. "Only God is enough," he said, quoting Saint Teresa. "It is a tragedy that in Europe, especially in the 21st century, the dominant view is that God is the antagonist of man and the enemy of freedom." After the mass, the Pope received the leader of the PP, Mariano Rajoy and his wife, Elvira Fernández.