Evening star., 1946-12-22
By Carl Hartman

MADRID.-A group Of Protestant
pastors, representatives Of tiny
minority group in Roman Catholic
Spain, has sent a secret appeal
abroad to fellow Protestants over
the world to help them get freedom
to print Bibles and tracts. open re-
|ligious schools and marry legally.
Roman Catholicism IS the official
religion in Spain, and the ministers
estimate thas there are only 10000
ProtestantsS In a population OF IT.
600, 700. Those responsible for the
appeal asked that their names be
concealed and that publication OF
the appeal itself, withheld since
it was signed September 4, be limited
to portions of the text.
The appeal declares that Protes-
tants in Spain do not have:
/. Exemption for their children
from Catholic teaching in the public
schools or freedom to start Protes-
tant schools. -
2. The right to print Protestant
literature, including hymn books,
"since the law requires the Roman
Catholic 'Imprimatur' as a pre-
to approval by the Gov
ernment censorship, thing natur-
ally impossible to obtain"
8. The right as converts to be
married by civil ceremony. Spanish
law requires that any one baptized
a Catholic, even in infancy, must be
married by a priest;
4. Equal rights to government jobs,
respect for their faith in the con-
script army, hospitals or asylums, or
the right to hold Protestant cere-
monies at burials in civil cemeteries,
or assurance of a decent place of
burial" in towns which lack civil
cemeteries;
5. Freedom to do missionary work.
Three Requests Made.
The message says that three re-
quests for these rights have been
made to Generalissimo Francisco
Franco in the seven years since he
came to power. but that no "oficial
answer" ever has been received. 1t
asks Protestants abroad to see what
they can ID V get action from
Franco.
The appeal concludes with the as
surance- that Spanish Protestants
love their country but need orsside
help tor eliminate the ''greAtest
obstacle to ITS deyeIopment"
Practically no1existent in Spain
since the 18th century, Protestant
activity revived under the republic
of 1873 and the liberal monarchy
that followed. The appeal says
Professionalism carried on most of
the time under precarious tolerance,
full of difficulties and even scurrilous
criticism, but never so restricted-if
it may even be called alive-as since
the triumph of Gen. Franco, which
has been considered the triumph of
the Roman Catholic Church"
The difficulties were somewhat
flightened, it adds, by the issuance
on July 10, 1945, of bill Of rights"
recognizing the private" exercise Of
religious freedom.
Complaint on Schools.
|, "This word is always a sword Of
Damocles hanging over our heads.
Today we have something more than
strictly private services in quite a
few places, but this is pure kindness
or, if you will, carelessness Of the
authorities, who tomorrow may in
sist on the word private
Protestants complain bitterly Of
the impossibility of opening their
schools, which operated freely under
the republic from 1881 to 1889.
Protestants publish some clandes-
tine literature including, they
claim, an edition of the Protestant
Bible bearing a date during the
republic.
Recently they have been con-
cerned over & ruling of the justice
ministry prohibiting judges from
performing civil marriage for any
one who has been baptized a Catho-
lie.
distributed by the Associated Press9