Entrance to the Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid. CLAUDIO ÁLVAREZ

Spain will file a formal complaint with the Vatican over statements made by its representative in Madrid to the effect that the Spanish government has “resuscitated Franco.”

The acting government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, of the Socialist Party (PSOE), said it will also reconsider the special tax regime enjoyed by the Catholic Church in Spain.

I’ve already had a few difficult conversations with the Nuncio

Acting deputy PM Carmen Calvo

In recent statements to the news agency Europa Press, the Holy See diplomat Renzo Fratini said that the Spanish government’s attempt at transferring the late dictator’s remains from the Valley of the Fallen memorial to a local cemetery has not had the desired effect, but rather the opposite.

“Honestly, there are so many problems in the world and in Spain. Why resuscitate him?” wondered the 75-year-old Nuncio, who is retiring after 10 years on the job. “I say they have resuscitated Franco. It was better to leave him alone; most people, most politicians have this idea because it’s been 40 years since his death. He did what he did, and God will be the judge. It doesn’t help to remind everyone of something that triggered a Civil War.”

Fratini added that the motives behind this initiative by a Socialist government are “above all political and ideological.”

Not surprising

The acting deputy prime minister of Spain, Carmen Calvo, said she was not surprised by these statements.

It doesn’t help to remind everyone of something that triggered a Civil War

Nuncio Renzo Fratini

“I was not surprised, I’ve already had a few difficult conversations with the Nuncio. This is going to get a strong response from the Spanish state,” she said, calling these latest remarks “uncalled for and unacceptable both in content and style.”

Calvo said that an ambassador for the Holy See “must not get involved in a state’s internal affairs” and on a subject “as relevant as the exhumation of the remains of a dictator.”

The acting deputy also said that the government plans to review the bilateral agreements between Spain and the Vatican on tax issues. “The Church has to pay taxes just like it does in France or in Italy, because it’s a matter of social justice. They know that, and that’s why I find the interview with the Vatican’s ambassador even more puzzling.”

Ever since Pedro Sánchez won a no-confidence vote against Mariano Rajoy of the Popular Party (PP) in late May 2018, one of his priorities has been to exhume Franco’s remains from the Catholic basilica inside the Valley of the Fallen, a memorial site outside Madrid. But the move has met with strong opposition from the dictator’s family, which has been locked in a legal battle with the government ever since.

The Supreme Court recently put the exhumation on hold until it judges the merits of the family’s appeal.