In 1953 and 1954, Lascorz and his family, now prominent socialites in Madrid, were the focus of the ""Hidalguía" controversy", appearing in a series of articles in Spanish magazines, including one called "Hidalguía", which publicly identified him as a forger. This led to them being socially stigmatised. The controversy had its roots in a campaign begun by the Holy See in 1952 against what the Papacy regarded as fraudulent orders of chivalry. This campaign had become highly publicised in the Spanish media by 1953 when negotiations between the Papacy and the Spanish government—the Concordat of 1953—were approaching an end. Since Lascorz was at the head of several orders and organizations seen by the Vatican as false orders, he repeatedly aroused misgivings in the Spanish government and authorities. It is unlikely Lascorz would have attracted enough attention to be exposed had he not publicly promoted his order in Madrid. He gave out numerous noble titles to his friends and supporters attracting the attention of the authorities and the real Spanish nobility. On 23 April 1953, an article in the "ABC" newspaper, "Falsas órdenes de caballería y falsos títulos nobiliarios" ("False chivalric orders and false titles of nobility"), identified Lascorz as a forger and his orders and institutions as fake, stating that Lascorz violated "not only the principles of Church law, but also the sovereignty of the Spanish state". In later issues the newspaper also published and rebuked Lascorz's responses to the article, pointing out that the Spanish government had not approved his orders.