National Catholicism in Francoist Spain: Church and State Relations

National Catholicism and the Church's Role

CATHOLICS

The Catholic Church supported Franco at the beginning of the Civil War. Conservative Catholicism was perhaps the most ideological source that supplied the Franco regime. Catholic morality was imposed in matters of dress, social relations, marriage and education. They are divided into two groups. Traditionalist Catholics were later replaced, from 1957, by members of Opus Dei. They occupied the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs. Since the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), part of the hierarchy and clergy began to distance themselves from the regime.

Monarchists and Carlist Factions

Monarchists

The monarchists were divided into two tendencies: traditionalist Carlists and other monarchist currents. The Carlists were also consistently present in the Council of Ministers and held important public offices. The relationship with the supporters of Don Juan was not easy, especially after the Second World War and the Lausanne Manifesto, in which Don Juan showed himself a supporter of democracy.

Institutionalization: Major Laws and Acts

II. Institutionalization of the Regime and Organization of the State

The dictatorship attempted to provide an image of legality through the promulgation of a series of fundamental laws and acts. Important measures included:

• Fundamental Labour Law (Fuero del Trabajo), 1938: Regulated labour relations and prohibited the right to strike. It laid the foundations of vertical unionism.
• The Courts Act (Cortes), 1942: Created the Cortes composed of 424 procurators representing ministries, provinces, municipalities and corporate entities. In practice many seats were appointed or controlled by the government, and the legislature did not exercise independent power.
• Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Spaniards, 1945: Set out a list of declared rights and duties for citizens.
• National Referendum Act, 1945: Allowed matters deemed appropriate by the Head of State to be submitted to referendum.
• Law of Succession, 1947: Declared Spain a kingdom; Franco was established as Head of State for life and given the authority to designate his successor when he deemed fit.
• Basic Principles of the Movement, 1958: Reaffirmed that the principal channels to participate in political life were family, the municipality and the syndicate. The old party FET de las JONS was reframed as the regime's "Movement," a more neutral and ambivalent structure.
• Organic Law of the State, 1966: Defined Spain as a Catholic kingdom and regulated the structure of the regime under an "organic" conception of democracy.

State Institutions and Measures

Among the first measures taken by the dictator were a set of wide-ranging institutional reforms that concentrated power and dismantled the republican framework:

• Abolition of the 1931 Constitution.
• Banning of political parties and independent unions.
• Abolition or suspension of Statutes of Autonomy and suppression of nationalist symbols, languages and flags.
• Franco concentrated power: he served as Head of State and Head of Government, exercised legislative power in urgent matters, controlled the judiciary, and was the supreme military authority.
• He presided over the only official party, FET de las JONS, and adopted titles such as "Generalísimo" and "Caudillo" (leader).
• In each province he appointed a civil governor and a military governor.

These institutional and legal frameworks shaped the relationship between Church and State, consolidated the regime's authority, and sought to legitimize Francoist rule both domestically and in the eyes of foreign observers.