Asturias again keeps the Covadonga Mass off regional public television
The Observatorio para la Libertad Religiosa says the regional government has again refused to let RTPA carry the Mass for the Day of Covadonga and Day of Asturias live. The group is collecting signatures to have the broadcast restored
The government of the Principality of Asturias, in northern Spain, has again refused to allow the regional public broadcaster, RTPA, to carry a live broadcast of the Mass for the Day of Covadonga and Day of Asturias.
The Mass had been broadcast for nearly two decades from 2006, allowing thousands of Asturians, in particular older people, the sick and those living outside the region, to take part in the region's main feast day.
The Observatorio para la Libertad Religiosa (Observatory for Religious Freedom) said the decision to drop the broadcast last year is now becoming standard practice. "Repeatedly silencing the Covadonga Mass on the television of all Asturians is not neutrality: it is discrimination and a step backward in respect for religious freedom and for the traditions that give Asturias its identity," the organization said.
Call to reverse the decision
The Observatorio has again asked the government of the Principality of Asturias and the management of RTPA to reverse the decision and guarantee the live broadcast of the Mass for the Day of Covadonga and Day of Asturias. "Militant secularism is advancing day by day. Let's not let it get away with it," the organization said.
The group is collecting signatures in defense of religious freedom and Asturian traditions, calling on the regional government to have RTPA broadcast the Mass again.
