The rejection of the veto on religious rites agreed in Jumilla by the People's Party and Vox unites the Government and the Church.

Yesterday, the Episcopal Conference reaffirmed its position to the Popular Party regarding the motion approved in Jumilla (Murcia), which bans Muslim celebrations at the sports facilities of the town of 27,000 inhabitants—some 4,000 of whom are registered immigrants. The bishops, who wield enormous influence in the main opposition party, sided with the Islamic community—as did the central government—to warn the Popular Party that imposing such restrictions on religious grounds is "discrimination that cannot occur in democratic societies."

The prelates say that religious vetoes "cannot be used in democratic societies."

From Genoa 13, far from putting the brakes on, they reaffirmed their support for the amendment approved last week, arguing that the text does not refer to Islam or Muslims.

The Popular Party is entrenched in the literal meaning of the motion to reject being labeled a xenophobic party.

When the Popular Party addresses the migration issue—even more so when Vox is a condition for governability—the terrain often becomes murky. This has been demonstrated in recent months by its staunch opposition to the distribution of minors from the Canary Islands—despite being part of the regional government—or its refusal to support the government's planned mass regularization of immigrants—which the Episcopal Conference also supports. Now, the debate sparked by the ban on Islamic rites in public spaces in Jumilla has once again demonstrated that this issue is causing major headaches for conservatives; unlike Vox, where they are convinced that raising the Islamophobic flag has an electoral reward.

The Government does not see any unconstitutionality in the text because it does not prohibit a specific religious act.

Sources close to the leadership of the Popular Party acknowledge the discomfort this summer controversy has caused them. They admitted on the record that yesterday's position by the Episcopal Conference—which had to remind them that "public religious demonstrations, understood as freedom of worship, are protected by the right to religious freedom, a fundamental human right protected by the Constitution"—opens a door for them to grapple with their contradictions. On the record, their position was one of full support for the initiative that facilitated the approval of the local budget. "We are the party of freedom; the constitutionalist party," defended Jaime de los Santos, the party's Deputy Secretary for Education and Equality.

Migration will closely monitor hate speech arising from the motion.

The Popular Party argues that they modified Vox's original initiative—which expressly prohibited the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of the Lamb, as it was unconstitutional. Those references have indeed disappeared, but the title of the motion makes it clear that the intention is to defend the "customs of the Spanish people against foreign cultural practices." The mayor of Jumilla, Seve González, insisted yesterday that only a modification to the ordinance regulating sports facilities was authorized, "without vetoes or prohibitions against anyone based on their religious origin." It so happens that the most recent Muslim celebrations took place there.

The government admits that the motion—although it is the result of "the extremist drift of the PP and VOX," in the words of Minister Félix Bolaños—does not appear to be unconstitutional because the wording does not prohibit a specific religious act, but rather all of them.

For its part, the Ministry of Migration warned that it will closely monitor hate speech generated by the controversy.

The Jewish community joins the reproach

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) has joined the condemnation of the Jumilla city council's decision. The Federation "expresses its rejection of the City Council's decision to prohibit Muslim religious events in public spaces. Violating religious freedom is a serious democratic setback," sources from the organization told Europa Press. Likewise, sources from the Federation have defended the "freedom and security" for all communities. "Hopefully, no faith has to live like the Jewish faith in Spain: with an escort at every synagogue and at every service of worship. We already said this after the fire at the Piera mosque: all communities must be able to celebrate their faith freely and safely," these sources note. The incident referred to by the Jewish community in Piera occurred last month in this town in the Anoia region, where a religious building belonging to the Muslim community was burned as a result of arson, according to the investigation. Days later, residents of Piera participated in a demonstration in favor of peaceful coexistence.