José Andrés Calderón studies the National Police exams. Or he studied. A couple of weeks ago, this young man from Madrid began praying the Rosary on the stairs of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a parish near the PSOE headquarters in Ferraz. Convinced that the salvation of Spain will come through prayer, José Andrés has been praying with hundreds of Spaniards every afternoon. Until last Monday a police officer identified him and fined him. Saddened to put his professional future at stake, but hopeful of doing the right thing, The Gazette He talks to him in the atrium of the parish where they pray for Spain daily.
How did the idea of praying in Ferraz come about?
At first it was offered to me to start praying the Holy Rosary in Ferraz. And I said yes. From there, seeing the fuck-up, and seeing that it was very necessary that in these National November protests we not only protest, but also pray to Jesus and the Virgin Mary, I decided that I had to continue. That is why I have been uninterruptedly coming to pray until today.
And have you communicated the formal call for prayer to the Government Delegation every day?
At first I didn’t request anything, because as it was happening there was no problem. What’s the problem with praying? However, last Wednesday, if I remember correctly, a police inspector wanted to identify me. Therefore, upon seeing all the problems that were being generated, I notified the Government Delegation.
What has been the problem then?
Until Sunday, none. When calling the Rosary with notice to the Government Delegation, positive silence prevailed and we were praying without any problem. See you Monday.
Later we will talk about the persecution of these days but let’s go to the beginning. When did you see the need to pray the Rosary for Spain?
Well, I think that every person who is Catholic must be very concerned about the situation that exists in our country. Catholics have been cornered in recent decades, and the legislation is clearly anti-Christian. In fact, I always cite article 172.4, according to which it is legitimized to be able to sentence up to one year in prison to those people who want to go to pray in front of abortion clinics and prevent the genocide that is abortion from being committed. So, given all of this, where it is intended that we can only pray in churches or in our homes, I believe that Catholics have a duty to go out into the streets, to have an important role in public life, because that is why we are Catholics. The word itself says it.
And why in Ferraz?
Well, speaking a few of us decided that this National November movement is a political battle, but also a spiritual battle. The Government of Pedro Sánchez not only wants to destroy Spain, but everything that it implies. And that inexorably leads us to the attack on the Church, on Catholicism. That is why there is nothing better than praying to the Virgin Mary, because all the great battles were won with a Rosary in hand.
In Madrid there are two places where praying is illegal: the PSOE headquarters and the Dator abortion center. Isn’t this deeply ridiculous?
The truth is that it’s funny. If you stop to think about it, well, it’s ridiculous. In the end, both places are still the headquarters of evil, right? In one, the most innocent human being there is is killed and in the other, Spain is being cut into pieces. This prohibition has caused people to be fined, who in 99.9% of cases are peaceful. Others have been gassed, women, children, the elderly, exactly the same. So, at the end of the day, both the Dator and the PSOE represent the same thing: the seat of evil.
Despite everything, there are Catholics who criticize the protesters who pray. What would you say to those who accuse you of mixing religion and politics?
Jesus said that “to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”, but unfortunately we have seen how the State, political power, has usurped what Jesus precisely said. Caesar has taken the place of God. We live under a totally tyrannical Government where we are being prevented from praying. We are not mixing politics and religion. Are they! Therefore, what is becoming clear is that there is a coercive persecution but also one that is more dangerous—because it is invisible—which is moral persecution. In the face of this repression I believe it is necessary to pray.
The greater the persecution, the greater the support…
Well, I knew people would come, but not to the point of filling the entire street up to the Santander bank and cutting off Marqués De Urquijo street. What was something unthinkable in the end we have been experiencing afternoon after afternoon. The ban on praying has turned it into a question of having dignity or not in the face of a measure that is openly tyrannical and goes against all common sense. We have seen committed people who, Christian or not, have come here either to pray or to accompany us against the tyranny of the Government Delegate and Pedro Sánchez.
The indifference of some part of the Church has been added to the Government’s censorship. Isn’t it surprising that the priest doesn’t support you?
Well, I want to say that there is part of the Church that is supporting us. In fact, there are already three priests who have come over the days to give us their blessing, to give us their support. Unfortunately, the Church continues to be an institution in crisis and sometimes it is not where it should be. That is why we are very sorry that the priest, instead of opening the doors of the church, closed them during all the protests and during the prayer of the Rosary. One day we had a bad experience because he told us that he was against the protests and that we should go to another corner to pray. When what better place to pray than next to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Let’s go back to this week. Why, with the same statement of reasons, did the Government Delegate allow prayer on Saturday and Sunday but censure it on Monday?
That would have to be asked of the Delegate, Martín Aguirre. An expectation of law is generated where the law itself is clear. If there is a reason for extraordinary urgency, the call can be communicated without complying with the minimum period of ten days. Given the immediacy of what is happening in Ferraz, we have not been able to wait ten days. What has happened, after all, is what we call the trap of legal positivism. The Government uses legal subterfuges and procedural issues to try to prevent prayer.
And he got it…
On Monday they warned me that if I started praying, the Police would proceed to break up the prayer and fine me and everyone else. At that moment I decided that we could pray in Pintor Rosales but then, at night, I realized that it didn’t matter exactly. Because we must obey God before men. It is a matter of pure common sense. That’s why I decided to return to Ferraz to pray and let it be what God wants.
After Monday’s warning, they proceeded to fine me on Tuesday and I don’t know what will happen now. Because of the ban on praying, I fear that I will receive at least three fines. However, that was not the most bloody thing. Monday was worse because there were few of us and we found ourselves surrounded by 15 police officers and a chief inspector. When they came for me, the Spanish people reacted and protested at what was happening.
Although the Police treated me politely and it was clear that they were not very happy with what was happening, I think that the Police will have to ask themselves at some point how long they will continue to carry out illegal orders.
What do you expect from the open judicial process?
Well, there are a number of considerations. Firstly, there is no lack of motivation on the part of the Government Delegate. He simply claims that there is no urgency but does not explain why there is not. Furthermore, it seems that to claim that one cannot pray, a problem of public disorder must be evident. And anyone who sees what is happening in Ferraz will realize that there is no problem: we peacefully pray the Holy Rosary. And thirdly, we must see what is said about disproportionality. During the demonstrations there have been practically no fines against anyone and simply for praying they are occurring. And furthermore, the expectation of law has been violated. There is no sensible argument for the Delegate’s change of position. We are seeing precisely that: how what was good at first changes and is now bad. It is the pure discretion, the pure desire and the pure will of Martín Aguirre.
This ruling has put your professional future in danger…
In the end, when a person has convictions and believes that what he thinks and says is supported by something behind it, by roots, by an authentic truth, then one has to defend it to the last consequences. A Christian must be very clear, as Saint Augustine said, that our true homeland is not here but in heaven. This without undermining the importance of patriotism. But our true reference is Christ. Why would he be afraid? Of course, unfortunately, I will certainly pay a high price. What I had been studying for more than a year and a half is surely impossible, with several public safety fines on top of it. But when you believe what you think and know that you are with Good, Truth and Beauty, you have to act. Even if they fine me.
This is a form of persecution…
Yes, but in Spain we have thousands of martyrs who have died for their faith. I am nothing more than a humble Spaniard who has simply been fined by a repressive Government. It is true that he is going to have a high personal cost for me but when one believes in something he must defend it.
What do you defend? Because you don’t risk your future just for an amnesty law…
The amnesty is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Is he the highest of everything that has been happening. Ferraz’s protest is, at its core, a protest against decades of progressive balkanization of Spain. Against that moral, religious and territorial process that Spain is suffering. Some of us have understood that it is not enough to go to demonstrate on a Sunday in Colón and then go have vermouth. We have to be day after day defending Spain and our faith. Spain cannot be understood without the cross because Spain is Mary’s land, as Benedict XVI said. This land of Mary has come together, putting aside ideological struggles and differences, to defend what unites us: the love of Spain and its unity.
Despite everything, is there hope?
Every Catholic must have hope. We were promised that no matter how much darkness and evil run rampant, in the end good will triumph. That is why of course I have faith and hope that God will help Spain. That is why we must continue protesting, whether in Ferraz or anywhere else. Spain has woken up and is not resigned to dying. He doesn’t want Pedro Sánchez or the entire ideological conglomerate behind him. You have to have faith and hope, without forgetting that the duty of every Spaniard is to fight, fight and fight.
