“I don’t know that they did it. But, I wouldn’t put it past them.”
Now, look, I don’t know if the Socialist government tried to block the transmission of the English translation. But I can tell you it is a fact, that people thought it was possible that they had. That possibility never entered my mind. I just assumed it was the cheap radio receivers the Congress organizers had purchased for 8,000 or 10,000 people.
So why would the Socialist government care about the Pope’s broadcast? They are afraid that they will become the next in line of governments that have been peacefully up-ended by the power of a pontiff’s message to the ordinary people. John Paul II famously inspired the Velvet Revolution in Poland, which led to the end of Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. John Paul was a thorn in the side of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. Benedict may prove to be a trial to the Socialist government of Spain.
The Socialist government was not elected to impose same sex marriage on an overwhelmingly Catholic country. When the legislation was proposed, over a million people marched in Madrid to protest. Neither the President nor the Vice-President of Spain attended the Papal Mass, as is customary for heads of state. The Spanish government even financed a pro-homosexual conference that met at approximately the same time as the World Meeting of Families.
The Socialists may have overplayed their hand in Spain. People are sick of the social experiments. Pope Benedict XVI’s inspiring words and gentle demeanor may just be the encouragement people need to push back decisively against the trends of redefining marriage and the family. People are ready to restore the ideal of one man, one woman, for life.