Word: spaining
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When Pilar Jiménez wed in 1961, she knew her marriage would last. "Back then, no one separated," says the 71-year-old Salamanca resident. "Marriage was for life." Indeed, her union - like most that took place in the strongly Catholic environment of Franco's Spain - endured, lasting until her husband's death two years ago. But if her marriage was typical of its era, so too are those of her 10 children: five of them are now divorced...
That's about average in Spain these days. The rate of broken marriages has risen steadily since Spain legalized divorce in 1981. But a 2005 reform that removed such obstacles as a ? mandatory year-long separation prior to the granting of a divorce has caused those numbers to skyrocket. Spain now has one divorce for every 2.3 marriages - an increase of 74% in the past two years alone...
...Catholic Church, the dramatic increase in Spain's divorce rate underlines the moral threat it perceives from Zapatero's government. At a December rally in Madrid to "defend the Christian family," ? Cardinal Augustín ? García-Gasco lambasted Socialist initiatives, ? saying, "The culture of radical laicism ? leads to nothing but despair along the road of ? abortion and express divorce." Benigno Blanco, president of the Spanish Forum for the Family, agrees: "The reform has transformed the marriage contract into trash. It's banalized marriage...
...trip to Valencia in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI made it clear that he was not pleased with the changes in Spain, including same-sex marriage. "We want to make people understand that according to human nature, it is man and woman who are made for each other and can give humanity a future," he told reporters. "The family is a unique institution in God's plan." Spanish bishops have organized huge rallies in Madrid to protest Zapatero's new laws, but polls continue to show that the reforms have broad support. Indeed, after spending centuries gazing lovingly across the Mediterranean...
...that recognize a rainbow of different family models. But they depend too on the traditional boon of having two grandmothers nearby, who do regular babysitting duties. "The extended family still exists," says Martínez-Sampere. "And it works." Whichever candidate wins next week will similarly have to reconcile Spain's deep family roots with its modern ambition to have...