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The Catholic Historical Review 86.4 (2000) 702-703



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Book Review

Política, cultura y sociedad en la España de Franco, 1939-1975.
Tomo I: La configuración del Estado espanol, nacional y católico (1939-1947)

Late Modern European


Política, cultura y sociedad en la España de Franco, 1939-1975. Tomo I: La configuración del Estado espanol, nacional y católico (1939-1947). By Gonzalo Redondo. (Pamplona: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra. 1999. Pp. 1143.)

Despite the view cultivated by popular but shallow historians, the Spanish Church and the Franco regime did not have the symbiotic relationship that they were reputed to have. Nationalcatholicism was more of a goal than a reality. This massive work, by the author of one of the most detailed histories of the Spanish Church in its relations with the Second Republic and the Civil War, details the conflicts and collaborations between the two institutions. It is the first of a projected series on the entire Franco regime; this volume covers the years from the end of the Civil War in 1939 to the promulgation of the Law of Succession in 1947, which declared Spain a monarchy and provided for the naming of a monarch as a successor to Franco.

Although the Church had been weakened by the anticlerical fury of the first months of the Civil War, particularly in the loss of the thousands of clerics killed, it was still a formidable institution, and the Franco regime needed its support to project its image of Spain as a Catholic state and particularly as a bulwark for the traditionalism that was to be its hallmark. Similarly the Church needed the state's support to rebuild the ruined churches and re-establish the Catholic cultural hegemony that it had before 1931. Franco wanted the privileges of the old Concordat of 1851, especially the right of presentation for clerical appointments. Pius XII was concerned about Nazi influence in Spain and was apparently fearful of another concordat with a dictator, having been burned by Pius XI's concordats with Mussolini and Hitler. A compromise was reached in 1941. Franco got some control over episcopal appointments, and the Church got back control of education and removal of the anticlerical legislation of the 1930's.

But Spain's three cardinals were not happy with the Franco regime. The Primate, Cardinal Isidro Gomá, was afraid that the regime would fall into the hands of Falangists who supported pagan Nazi policies, especially in 1939, when German influence was great in Spain. He died in 1940, warning against the statism of the regime. Cardinal Pedro Segura so outraged Franco with his criticism of the regime that the Caudillo tried to get Pius XII to remove the controversial prelate. And Cardinal Francesc Vidal of Tarragona, non-signer of the Bishops' pastoral letter of 1937 calling for support of Franco's cause, remained in Italian exile, repeatedly but unsuccessfully petitioning Franco and the Pope to return to his diocese. The Caudillo would not budge, while Pius hoped to solve the problem diplomatically; Vidal died before he could return. But most bishops were pleased to have the support of a regime that replaced the anticlerical Republic.

A major point of tension, however, was the conflict between Franco and the Pretender, Don Juan, son of Alfonso XIII, over the question of restoration of the monarchy. Redondo details the controversy, showing how clerics and Catholic politicians lined up on both sides. Angel Herrera Oria, the grey eminence [End Page 702] behind the Catholic political parties before the Civil War, and later Cardinal-Archbishop of Malaga, made an appearance as a newly ordained priest and worked behind the scenes to impress both factions with the need for social reform. Gil Robles in Portuguese exile called for the return of the monarch as a guarantee of greater citizen participation in the affairs of state and lobbied for clerical support.

The author describes all of the events of these...

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