Tension in Sol

Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday began his third visit to Spain, timed to coincide with World Youth Day. He arrived 24 hours after Puerta del Sol square in central Madrid was the scene of a lay march to protest against the cost to the public of the visit. The demonstration saw moments of high tension between the protestors and the pilgrims, and ended with incidents involving the police, who were trying to disperse the marchers. What happened on Wednesday night was hardly the best way to kick off a mass event that, while controversial, must be approached with normality and respect. The authorities and the organizers should do their best to ensure that the rest of the papal visit takes place without such problems. Criticism of any event is a healthy thing within a democracy, and the right to demonstrate is to be found in the Constitution. But the tension seen on Wednesday in Sol, and the incidents at the end of the night, must not happen again.

During the opening events of the week, the ecclesiastical hierarchy has had the chance to address thousands of young people from all over the world. From Thursday onward, the pope has had the chance to do so as well. The homilies and statements of the Spanish hierarchy thus far have been limited to questions relating to the Catholic faith, without touching on political criticism. Both the World Youth Day and the very visit of the Pope have been controversial, due to their cost to a secular state. This controversy somewhat misses the main issue, which is the fact that Spain is the host country for this event, established by the previous pope, John Paul II. Ever since the public authorities decided that they were going to play host, they have been obliged to assume the costs of security, and so on, incurred by such a massive event, whether religious or not.

The real question, then, is if they would have done better to decline the offer to take on the event, given the current economic climate, not to mention the fact that this is the second time that Spain has hosted the World Youth Day during its 25 years of existence. Political leaders will have to explain to citizens, whether they are believers or not, the reasons for taking on such a huge cost, not to mention imposing the considerable disruption to traffic due to road closures and other such problems on citizens.

While the messages from the Catholic hierarchy keep to the issue of faith, there is no reason to pass comment about such messages. In the case of the pope, criticism that enters into the political sphere would be inconvenient, given that he holds roles not just as the head of the Church but also the head of state, which brings with it the tradition of respecting the host country. The ecclesiastical hierarchy should not lose sight of the fact that clericalism and anticlericalism are two creatures that feed off one another, always to the detriment of one group of citizens or another. What happened in Sol on Wednesday night is a good example of this.