Father Santiago Cantera Montenegro, 47, is the Prior of the Benedictine monastery in the Valle de los Caídos (“Valley of the Fallen”), 60km north-west of Madrid, Spain.
He vigorously opposed an exhumation of the Generalissimo Francisco Franco (+1975) who is buried in the monastery’s church.
Valle de los Caídos is a monument of atonement and reconciliation wanted by Franco who saved Spain from Communism during the Spanish Civil War.
In August 2018, Spain's socialist government ordered the exhumation of Franco's remains from the mausoleum, but the exhumation was suspended by the Spanish Supreme Court.
Any action inside the Basilica requires the permission of the Church. Nevertheless, the corpse abuse is planned to take place on October 24.
A day before, Father Cantera denounced to Pope Francis that Franco’s exhumation does not respect the "inviolability" of the basilica.
Also, the prior has filed a complaint before a judge for the "unconsented access" of the police to his church. The …More