MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government says the Vatican has agreed to find ways to prevent the remains of late dictator Francisco Franco being reburied in central Madrid after they are exhumed from a glorifying mausoleum.
Relatives of Franco want to reinter his embalmed body in a family crypt under Madrid's cathedral, a move that Catholic Church authorities in Spain said they can't oppose because the sepulcher was purchased by the dictator's heirs decades ago.
Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo on Tuesday said Vatican State Secretary Pietro Parolin "understood" during a meeting on Monday that while Franco's remains need to be relocated to a place "with dignity," the government "must guarantee in all Spanish territory that Franco is not praised."
"The solution," Calvo said, "can't be the Almudena" cathedral in Madrid.
