Bishops choose teachers and taxpayer pays for them

SPAIN One of the more curious things about the relationship between Church and State is the agreement signed in 1979 between the Vatican and Madrid, whereby teachers of religion at all schools are chosen -presumably for their 'religious correctness'- by the local Archbishop, but are paid for by the Education Departments of each region, that is, by the taxpayer. They now receive an average net salary of €2,000 per month, which is established at the same level as their 'normal' colleagues. At present there are some 13,000 such teachers, very few of whom want to be catechists (teachers of the Catholic Church doctrine). Their job security depends on their 'correctness', as is shown by the case of María del Carmen Galayo, who lost her job (later recovered but rejected on principle) because she was 'living in sin'>>>

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with her partner; or that of Resurrección Galera, whose contract was not renewed because she married a German divorcee in a civil ceremony. In this last case, the Constitutional Court found in her favour because 'she had the right not to suffer discrimination for personal circumstances, nor for her ideological freedom (in connection with her right to marry as is properly established in law), nor her to have her intimacy and personal life infringed.

These teachers complain that, unlike their colleagues, they are judged not only for their ability as teachers but also for their social life, so the Constitutional Court's sentence, the first of its kind, is important and will be certainly be taken into account in any further such cases, of which there are many still pending, and many more expected.