Throng in Madrid Rallies for Traditional Family
MADRID (Reuters) — Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards demonstrated in favor of the traditional family here on Sunday, in a show of force by Roman Catholics in what is now one of the most liberal countries in Europe.
Organizers said more than 1.5 million people packed Colón Square and surrounding streets for the event, which was addressed by Pope Benedict XVI in a live video link from St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Other crowd estimates were lower.
While the organizers said they had no political motives, the large demonstration came just over two months before general elections in which the Socialist government, which has legalized same-sex marriage and made divorce easier, is seeking another term in office.
Under the shadow of Colón Square’s huge Spanish flag and just a short walk from the gay bars of the Chueca district, families and churchgoers bused in from all over the country heard speakers call for the defense of the traditional family.
“Founded in the indissoluble union between man and woman, it is the place in which human life is sheltered and protected from its beginning until its natural end,” Pope Benedict said.
Speakers attacked the government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who has a lead of two percentage points in polls over the strongly Roman Catholic and conservative Popular Party. The elections are on March 9.
Long one of Europe’s most conservative countries, Spain has undergone a remarkable liberal transformation in the three decades since the death of Franco.
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