The new Archbishop, Rouco Varela, reported to be organizing training courses for priests with leading PP leading members of the PP
Details of further links between the President of the Episcopal Conference, Antonio María Rouco Varela, and the Partido Popular have emerged in reports in the Spanish media today. Apparently, the diocese of Madrid together with leading members of the PP is organizing training courses for priests. However, the Forum of Madrid priests have denounced this as «political indoctrination».
This Forum, which has been created recently and is made up of around a hundred priests from various parishes in Madrid has referred in particular to a course entitled ‘Political, economic and social challenges’ that leading members of the PP such as Jaime Mayor Oreja, Gustavo de Arístegui or the Immigration advisor for the Comunidad de Madrid, Carlos Clemente, are involved with.
The course is registered in the Permanent Training Seminary that trainee priests in Madrid attend.
According to Agustín Rodríguez, a member of the Permanent Commission for the Forum of priests, political representatives should not be involved in training priests.
The Forum of Madrid priests considers that this to be political and ideological indoctrination of priests and evidence of the connections between Cardinal Rouco Varela and the PP. The forum has written to the Cardinal to express its disapproval.