Removal of Cross in Spain Sparks Debate
In October 2024, a memorial cross in Neda was removed under Spain’s 'Law of Democratic Memory', which mandates the elimination of symbols linked to Francoism. While the law requires the removal of plaques, some municipalities are dismantling entire crosses—despite a recent court ruling that such removals are unjustified when the crosses no longer bear political meaning.
In Neda (La Coruña), a memorial cross was removed by the local council in accordance with the recent "Law of Democratic Memory". According to this law, "all buildings, constructions, (...) and any other elements or objects attached to public buildings or located on the public highway which, in a personal or collective exaltation of the Military Uprising and the Dictatorship, (...) are considered elements contrary to democratic memory" and must therefore be removed.
The cross was erected in 1939 to commemorate the victims of the Spanish Civil War. The Neda City Council "requested the preparation of a historical analysis that would dispel any doubts about the origin and meaning of this cross". The report, carried out by three historians, states that the construction of the cross was the result of "a campaign of inaugurations of thousands of plaques and crosses carried out in the immediate post-war period by the authorities of the Francoist regime in homage to the victims of the war on the part of the insurgents".
As reported by OIDAC Europe, similar events have taken place all over Spain. Instead of removing references to the dictatorship (such as plaques), some municipalities are choosing to remove the cross as a whole. The Association of Christian Lawyers (Abogados Cristianos) is working to stop this intolerance towards public Christian symbols. In June 2024, the Contentious-Administrative Court No. 2 of Castellón agreed with their claims, considering the removal of a religious element that rejects all forms of violence to be irregular, since it had already been stripped of all Francoist symbolism. Following this decision, the Christian lawyers announce that they will request the review of all the judgments that have approved the demolition of crosses in the Valencian Community.
Source: lavozdegalicia.es, gaceta.es, larazon.es
Image: X (Concello de Neda)