Franco Followers and Bishops Urge a Boycott of Eu Vote

In a last stand by traditionalists and erstwhile supporters of General Franco's dictatorship, Roman Catholics in Spain are being urged to boycott today's referendum on a European constitution as a way of censuring the socialist government for advocating gay marriage and wider access to abortion.

While a 'yes' vote looks almost certain in the first of 10 countries putting the idea of an EU constitution to a referendum - turnout will be what counts. The governments of countries with Eurosceptic tendencies, such as France and Britain, want Spanish voters to deliver a resounding endorsement of the constitution. This, they hope, will create a sense of inevitability about the project before it is put to their own electorate.

But if the Spanish bishops' conference has its way, the 37 per cent of voters who told the CIS opinion poll last week that they were undecided or would abstain will be swelled by conservative Roman Catholics and a vestigial body of Franco supporters.

Approximately 51.2 per cent of registered voters said that they would vote for the constitution. The 5.7 per cent of no-voters were principally supporters of the Communist-Green Izquierda Unida and Catalan republican independence party.

The Spanish constitution does not allow the bishops to call openly for a boycott of the referendum. But their spokesman, Father Martinez Camino, said that they were departing from their usual position of encouraging people to do their civic duty. 'Abstention is not legitimate when a citizen goes on holiday. It is legitimate when it is not possible to overcome the complexity (of the issue) or for people who do not agree with the conditions in which the referendum are being organised,' he said.

Last month, after the Cardinal of Madrid, Antonio Rouco Varela, led a delegation to the Vatican, Pope John Paul II expressed support for the bishops' position, saying he was 'concerned to see a mentality creeping into Spain that is inspired by secularism and which progressively leads to restrictions in religious freedom'.

The Pope listed his objections to socialist Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero's policies on sexuality, embryo research and increased abortion rights. He also criticised the socialist government for considering withdrawing compulsory religious education, as introduced by former conservative Prime Minister José Maria Aznar.

Ultimately, Aznar's Partido Popular has come out in favour of the EU constitution. But the animosity between the bishops and the ruling socialists has deepened.

'The Pope was used by the bishops,' said columnist Juan Luis Cebrian. 'This is a power struggle. Under Aznar, the church acquired considerable political influence. Now it is at war against the government but it can never win.'

He pointed out that the bishops' abstention call is totally out of step with Spanish realities. The country owes its economic success to the EU, which it joined in 1986, 11 years after General Franco's death.

However, despite a good participation record in the three referendums Spain has held since it became a democracy, the socialists fear a credibility gap if, as predicted, fewer than 35 per cent of registered voters turn out today.