https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Pope Francis on Wednesday formally gave his blessing to the canonisation of Junipero Serra, an 18th-century Spanish missionary credited with evangelising California at a high price for native Americans. https://www.thelocal.es/20150506/pope-approves-sainthood-for-controversial-spanish-missionary Wed, 06 May 2015 17:51:18 +0200 pope-approves-sainthood-for-controversial-spanish-missionary A transsexual Spanish man met with the Pope over the weekend, it emerged on Tuesday, according to Spanish press reports. https://www.thelocal.es/20150127/transsexual-meets-with-pope-at-the-vatican Tue, 27 Jan 2015 10:48:00 +0100 transsexual-meets-with-pope-at-the-vatican Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia have made the first international trip of their rule, visiting Pope Francis in the Vatican. https://www.thelocal.es/20140630/spains-new-king-make-visit-to-pope-felipe-letizia Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:38:00 +0200 spains-new-king-make-visit-to-pope-felipe-letizia Pope Francis on Tuesday criticized an "inhumane" system which causes a youth unemployment rate of "50 percent" in Spain and "60 percent" in Andalusia in the wake of recent European elections. https://www.thelocal.es/20140527/pope-takes-aim-at-spanish-unemployment Tue, 27 May 2014 12:12:00 +0200 pope-takes-aim-at-spanish-unemployment A new Spanish cardinal is facing possible charges after telling a newspaper he believed many gays could be cured of their "defect". https://www.thelocal.es/20140124/cardinal-faces-court-over-claim-gays-can-be-cured Fri, 24 Jan 2014 10:55:00 +0100 cardinal-faces-court-over-claim-gays-can-be-cured The Pope's new Spanish cardinal told a Spanish newspaper on Sunday that homosexuality was a physical "defect" like high blood pressure and that many gays could be cured with "proper treatment". https://www.thelocal.es/20140120/gay-people-can-be-cured-spains-new-cardinal Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:44:00 +0100 gay-people-can-be-cured-spains-new-cardinal Tens of thousands of believers poured into central Madrid to celebrate an open-air Roman Catholic mass for the Holy Family on Sunday, just days after the Spanish government agreed to tighten the abortion law. https://www.thelocal.es/20131229/thousands-hold-madrid-mass-after-new-abortion-law Sun, 29 Dec 2013 15:05:00 +0100 thousands-hold-madrid-mass-after-new-abortion-law A group of fans of the famous black berets of Spain's Basque country have managed to give Pope Francis an example as a Christmas present. https://www.thelocal.es/20131219/basques-gift-pope-beret-for-christmas Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:26:00 +0100 basques-gift-pope-beret-for-christmas Spain's Catholic Church beatified 522 "martyrs" on Sunday, mostly clerics killed during the Spanish Civil War, prompting fury from Franco-era victims' groups who say the honour "legitimized" his dictatorship. https://www.thelocal.es/20131014/pope-praises-spains-522-pro-franco-martyrs Mon, 14 Oct 2013 11:22:00 +0200 pope-praises-spains-522-pro-franco-martyrs Spain's socialist opposition party say they will mount a legal challenge against any changes that make Spain's abortion law more restrictive. They will also downgrade their relations with the Vatican if new rules are introduced. https://www.thelocal.es/20130416/spains-socialists-slam-government-abortion-plans Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:20:00 +0200 spains-socialists-slam-government-abortion-plans Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday became the first European leader to meet with Pope Francis, with the Vatican saying the two discussed the country's steep economic crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20130415/spanish-pm-talks-crisis-with-pope-francis Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:34:09 +0200 spanish-pm-talks-crisis-with-pope-francis If Pope Francis ever wants to hire a body double, he could do a lot worse that Spain's Archbishop of Valencia, Carlos Osoro, a man city residents describes as the pontiff's spitting image. https://www.thelocal.es/20130321/popes-doppelganger-lives-in-spain Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:16:00 +0100 popes-doppelganger-lives-in-spain