Rising Power in Franco Spain
MOWRER, RICHARD
'Opus Dei' gains key posts Rising Power in Franco Spain By Richard Mowrer Madrid Anew political force is moving to the center of the Spanish scene. With General Franco's acquiescence it is...
...Not that this is likely to happen in the near future: The Generalissimo is 64 and in good health and, though he may delegate some of his powers, he is unlikely to resign as Spain's Caudillo...
...A few weeks after General Alonso Vega took over the Ministry of the Interior, conservative opponents of the regime were rounded up and jailed...
...Since then the office of Opus Dei in Spain has issued a denial that it has ever "utilized or circulated" such a list...
...This new force is the Opus Dei, a Catholic secular society...
...The arrests coincided with the semi-clandestine appearance of a list of "opponents of the regime" divided into four categories: Communists, Socialists, syndicalists "of Falangist derivation,' and liberals "including some monarchists...
...Since the Cabinet changes, it has been virtually stripped of power...
...The society has opened a private university in Pamplona, a college at Santiago de Compostela, a public school in Bilbao, a technical school in Barcelona...
...The following developments have strengthened the conviction of a growing number of Spaniards that Opus Dei is moving forward as the country's dominant political force: • Ascendancy of Opus Dei influence and corresponding decline of the Falange...
...In July a bill was approved providing for the separation of the role of Chief of State from that of Prime Minister...
...As a political party it is in process of disintegration...
...The movement was founded in Madrid 29 years ago by an Arago-nese priest, Jose Maria Escriva, whose ambition is to create an elite of devoutly Christian men and women capable of molding and directing human society...
...It is displacing some of the Caudillo's oldest pillars of support, itself becoming a main prop of the regime...
...He also brought in new men who, if they are not actually members of Opus Dei, are certainly sympathizers and fellow-travelers: Finance Minister Mariano Navarro Rubio, Minister of Agriculture Cirilo Canovas and, most important because he controls the police, General Alonso Vega, Minister of the Interior...
...Recently they circulated a clandestine sheet in which they denounced, without naming it, "the Trojan Horse which has penetrated the fortress of the state with the object of capturing the Government...
...Their objective is to modify the structure of the Franco state without demolishing it...
...Opus Dei denies that the society as such is playing a political role...
...The bill will become law when Franco judges the moment opportune...
...It has recently acquired control of a newspaper in Madrid and of others in the provinces of Leon and Valladolid...
...No stale claiming to act legally or with a sense of justice and in a Christian spirit can afford to disdain these rights...
...Franco's confidant and trusted right arm, Rear Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is reputed to be a keen supporter of Opus Dei, if not actually a member...
...Carrero's closest aide, Professor Laureano Lopez Rodo, is an Opus Dei man...
...It said: "Those who assume that the right to present candidate bishops granted to the Chief of State by the new concordat [of 1953] signifies that the Church has become subservient to the present regime forget that the privilege will be valid also for whatever type of government rules Spain in the future...
...They make private vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, do not advertise or deny their membership in Opus Dei...
...When the Generalissimo reshuffled his cabinet in February, he brought in one known and admitted member of Opus Dei, Minister of Commerce Alberto Ullastres...
...It has branches in 17 countries and headquarters in Rome...
...Those detained are known to be generally favorable to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy along democratic lines...
...But it is a fact that some members and some supporters of Opus Dei are working in collaboration with Franco to shape the political destiny of Spain...
...He is a little-known behind-the-scenes figure believed to have had a lot to do with the Cabinet changes which brought Opus Dei influence into the Government...
...They have now been silenced and are incapable of jeopardizing the long-range plans of the new men around Franco...
...And now Opus Dei men hold positions of trust in General Franco's government...
...It adds that whatever members of the organization choose to participate in politics do so only as private citizens...
...This is known to be desired by Opus Deis acknowledged political philosopher, Rafael Calvo Serer, as a fundamental step in an evolution toward an authoritarian, "non-political" monarchy...
...The semi-secret nature of the organization has led the Spaniard in the street to call it "la masoneria blanca"—the white freemasonry...
...Decentralization of the Government...
...They had become articulate, noisy and impatient...
...Blueshirt militants are worried and angry...
...Arrests...
...The Falange was one of the regime's staunchest pillars of support...
...Members have obtained top professorial posts in institutions of learning...
...This monarchy would retain features of the present regime...
...Acting quickly, the authorities swooped on Signo, seized all copies containing the outburst, and opened an investigation to find out how the offending article got published...
...Their aim is to condition the regime and the Spanish nation for a shockproof changeover from Franco's one-man rule to a non-parliamentarian, authoritarian monarchy...
...The denial also says that Opus Dei "expressly forbids any groups or individuals to use the name of the society to further their political activities...
...The eruption of Opus Dei into the public life of Spain and into the Government itself perturbs various elements in the hierarchy of the Spanish Church...
...In Spain, Opus Dei has lately penetrated at an increasing rate to key positions in the life of the country...
...More forcefully, the publication of Catholic Action Youth, Signo, spoke out against the regime's current policy of arrests...
...The list was rumored to have been compiled by Opus Dei, or by members of the society, since the names listed in it were of persons known to be inimical to Opus Dei objectives...
...Recalling violent anticlerical outbreaks in the country's past, some important prelates doubt the wisdom of associating the Church closely with the Franco regime...
...Its members, while pledging themselves to a life of Christian perfection, continue with their professional activities...
...It would be proclaimed at a time of Franco's choosing, or when he dies...
...The Communist danger," it said, "is more effectively warded off by respecting the minimum rights of individuals than by vigorous vigilance...
...Their uneasiness was reflected in a recent editorial in Ecclesia, organ of Catholic Action, the only publication allowed to bypass official censorship...
...With General Franco's acquiescence it is assuming a dominant role in policy-making and elbowing other influences to the sidelines...
Vol. 40 • September 1957 • No. 36
