Pope condemns 'aggressive' anti-Church sentiment in Spain

Pope Benedict XVI criticised an “aggressive” anti-Church sentiment that he said is flourishing in Spain as he arrived on a two-day visit today to rekindle faith in the country.

Benedict said the anti-clericalism being felt today in Spain harks back to the 1930s when the Church suffered a wave of violence and ill feeling as the country lurched from an unstable democracy to civil war.