• Changes Felipe VI breaks the tradition of the Royal Family attending the Easter mass in Palma

  • Faith Felipe VI, a practicing Catholic king: the risks of embracing secularism

The enormous controversy

is surprising

, especially on social networks, which caused this Santiago Day the image of Queen Letizia in a respectful attitude, but without crossing herself, while Don Felipe and his daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, did. at the beginning of the offering mass to the Apostle in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

It is surprising, we say, because the Consort has

stopped making the sign of the cross

in religious services since Felipe VI was proclaimed Head of State in June 2014. Before, being Princess of Asturias, she used to follow this rite.

Some have taken a long time, therefore, to notice this gesture, as well as to draw conclusions, which of all colors have been this week.

What if "

atheist

", what if a Queen who "disrespects" the institution she embodies, what if "agnostic", what if "believer but not practicing"... Each one has expressed what they have considered based on what has transmitted an image that, like almost all, lends itself to

endless interpretations.

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Monarchy.

Felipe VI, a practicing Catholic king: the risks of embracing secularism

  • Editorial: MARINA PINA

Felipe VI, a practicing Catholic king: the risks of embracing secularism

In Spain, unlike what happens in almost all European Monarchies, the

separation between the Crown and the Church

is almost absolute.

And from Zarzuela there is no information about the religious beliefs of the members of the Royal Family because they consider it something of the "private" sphere.

Gone is the

obligation

that every aspiring King had to be Catholic and to marry someone who also embraced the true religion.

Known is what it cost to find the solution so that the Princes Juan Carlos and Sofia could marry.

They finally did it in two ceremonies, one by the Catholic rite and the other by the Greek Orthodox.

And, immediately, Doña Sofía had to

renounce her faith

to become an exemplary Catholic.

The same she had happened in 1906 to the Anglican Victoria Eugenia to be able to marry Alfonso XIII.

It is unknown whether Doña Letizia follows any creed or not.

But it is at least questionable that Spanish citizens

do not have the right to know

.

Because the Kings represent an institution with a huge anchorage in traditions.

And, above all, because an official clarification would avoid such controversies.

Although, presumably, this

would not placate the discomfort

of certain conservative or progressive sectors that criticized or applauded her this week for her decision not to cross herself in the Galician temple.

CATHOLIC MAJESTY

Article 16 of our Constitution establishes that "no denomination shall have a state character" in our country.

And under the reign of Felipe VI, giant steps are being taken to

disassociate the Head of State from religious symbols,

as is the case, for example, with the inaugurations of the presidents of the Government or of the ministers in which they have been suppressed from the scenography the Bible and the crucifix.

It is also

becoming increasingly unusual

see the Kings attending mass, beyond occasions in which they are forced by their institutional role, such as the aforementioned offering to the Apostle or the funeral for the victims of the covid that they presided over in Madrid in July 2020. In what It seems a change of traditions that also had many retractors, this year they even decided to stop attending the Easter Mass in Palma with which the Royal Family for decades concluded Holy Week.

The unknown about the faith of Doña Letizia opens, finally, a question that affects one of the titles of the King of Spain since the times of

Carlos V,

that of Catholic Majesty.

Experts in Noble Law emphasize that it corresponds to the holder of the Crown and not to her consort.

But, since the 16th century, all monarchs and their spouses have been addressed as Their Catholic Majesties.

Is it also Doña Letizia?

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