Catholicism and Citizenship Under the Franco Dictatorship

This chapter looks at the contribution of transnational Catholic networks to the recovery and reconstruction of citizenship within the dictatorial context of Franco’s Spain. The scarcely-studied contribution of nonconformist Catholics to the revival of citizenship under Franco was fomented above all by a transnational phenomenon: the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965. This chapter explores how Catholic activists redefined their religious leadership in terms of social and political activism. They used the cultural, economic and symbolic resources emanating from their position in order to empower their communities and diffuse models of participative democracy not only in their churches, but in much wider circles as among students and workers.