The secularist-socialist Zapatero government harshly criticized the Church for taking a stance on moral issues in the political realm. Bishop Jose Sanchez of Siguenza-Guadalajara issued a pastoral letter stressing that the bishops will not renounce their right to speak freely about political issues:
He went on to list the concerns the bishops outlined in their statement: respect for life from conception to natural death, respect for the institutions of marriage and the family, freedom of education and the right of parents to decide the matter for their children, terrorism and unemployment. [Full article on CNA]
