The issue of secularism was discussed in the plenary session yesterday. The Orereta Laikoak group tabled a motion that sparked a long and rich debate on the subject. His colleague Jesús González gave a short presentation. Orereta Laikoa noted that he considers that public institutions should be secular, “at least non-confessional”.

EH President Bildu said that they started talking yesterday saying that they should not be defending the motion of censure. In fact, they are convinced that it is a debate that should have passed long ago, “unfortunately it is not so, and we know that the majority of citizens do not care about this issue, but we know that what we are asking for is fair and positive.”

He said it’s time to be a truly secular administration, which is essential to achieving real equality, “we’re talking about beliefs, and we all need the same playing field.” The City Hall of Errenteria, although it intended to take steps and changes in the customs and practices that the Catholic Church promotes and performs in public life, explained that these decisions have not been sufficient on the road to a genuine non-confessional administration and that they therefore presented a motion.

Five points were included in the motion for its adoption by the plenary. That the City carry out the political and legal procedures necessary to reintegrate the people ' s property unregistered by the Catholic Church; that it processes the elimination of the exemption from the IBI for their property; for residents who wish to welcome a new life or use civil forms of mourning for death; that they do not take advantage of religious activities in the festival programs organized or subsidized by the City Hall; and

The spokesman for this municipal group, Ion Collar, said that Elkarrekin Errenteria defends religious freedom, “it is a democratic right that all religions have, but religion, which belongs to the private sphere, on which education must be given in the spaces of worship and not in the institution or in the public school”.

Two sides of the same coin

Collar said that secularism and democracy are two sides of the same coin, and that the Catholic Church lives in a “tax haven”, “it does not have to declare its property or its income, nor pay the corresponding taxes, and they also finance it with public money, with everyone’s money”. In some public centers there are still people who donate religion, and there are many centers that have a religious character financed by public funds, and the penal code considers blasphemy a crime.”

Collar called for the separation between the Church and the States, “guaranteeing the democratic health of society and the rights of women and sexual minorities in particular. The rights of the latter are systematically violated by the interference of the different religions”. He also referred to self-financing and stated that the Catholic Church needs such management.

In addition, he called for the creation of a secular and egalitarian culture, “and that is primarily for those of us who hold a public office.”

Elixabete Murua of the PNV said they would like to know exactly what the situation of the village is, “how many buildings are unregistered, how many IBI are not paid and what kind of buildings are those. To find out all this, we'd like to do a test. It is clear that the City Hall does not, however, have much influence.”

Murua added that the Basque Nationalist Party is a non-confessional party and that all citizens have the same right to celebrate in a civil way the acts that take place before the events of birth, death and other events of life, “this is our competence, that of the city council”. Murua pointed out that with the last two points one cannot decide as for example and referred to coexistence, “beyond religious tradition, there are acts that deserve to be maintained in this country from the point of view of culture and tradition. We are also convinced that many citizens adhere to this idea.”

Iñaki Ruiz, representing the Socialist Party, acknowledged that the motion was of interest and expressed concern at the last two points, as the PNV has done. Belief is an “individual freedom” that placed them in the private sphere. “The motion says that religions are the only ones that affect public administrations, it is not true, because there are other convictions that are not religious and that are implanted by parasitization of public administrations, an example of this is to put ties of a specific type on the facades or to put other posters”.

EH Councilman Bildu Bernar Lemos recalled that seven years ago a laity motion was also made in the city hall, “it didn’t go out then, but now we have a new opportunity to work on the issue.” He insisted that secularism should be understood as an inclusive concept, that secular administration is synonymous with guaranteeing equality among people, “who should guarantee the fulfillment of rights, especially in the case of women and homosexuals”. He added that secularism guarantees the right to difference, without distinction of rights.

Compromise motion

EH Bildu and Elkarrekin Errenteria tabled a compromise motion and proposed a change in the wording of Orereta Laikoa’s motion in the fourth and fifth point. We urge the City Hall not to organize religious acts because of the secular nature that it must have and not to participate in them the Corporation in case it does not do so on its own behalf, and to set in motion a process of reflection and work in the case of the religious actions that have to do with the City Hall and that come from the local agents, so that its proposals leave this character aside and thus ensure the secularity that the city administration is promoted.

On the fifth point, the two parties claimed that the Consistory undertook not to carry out religious actions in subsidies and regulated aid which annually subscribes to the consistory with several cultural associations.

A recess was made for the parties to have the opportunity to analyse the new proposal and then to vote. Before voting, Orereta Laikoa spoke to reiterate that his proposal is not discriminatory, “we have nothing against any religion. We think it is right that if Catholics want to do their jobs, what does not seem normal to us is that the Txistularis group goes behind and that in the festival program it is explained that the town hall will support this procession; that they are allowed to do their procession like everyone and that no religious act is subsidized”.

The compromise motion was first voted and prospered with the votes in favour of the parties that make up the government team; the PNV and the PSE-EE voted against. The same was repeated in the motion tabled by Orereta Laikoa, who advanced with the same support.