The Andalusian government has signed a new agreement with the Catholic Church to fund 117 chaplains in public hospitals, committing €7.4 million over the current legislative term. Finalized just days after the last regional elections, the deal provides for annual payments of €1.8 million until 2030, continuing a practice that began in 1986. A separate ElPlural report puts the agreement’s four-year funding at up to €7.8 million. It also says chaplains may enter hospitals when patients request religious assistance, and that hospitals must provide an appropriate space for prayer and worship. Healthcare advocacy groups and secular organizations have criticized the decision, arguing that the funds should instead address urgent needs in the region’s strained health system.
Marea Blanca and Andalucía Laica have condemned the renewed funding as an “insult to the public,” citing ongoing challenges in Andalusia’s healthcare sector. They point to overloaded emergency services and staff shortages, as well as growing waiting lists, as evidence that the money would be better spent hiring medical professionals. The groups also argue that the agreement contradicts Spain’s constitutional commitment to secularism, noting that only 17.4% of Spaniards identify as practicing Catholics, information from recent CIS surveys.
José Antonio Naz, president of Europa Laica, highlighted the historical roots of these agreements, which trace back to the 1953 Concordat between Spain and the Vatican and were later adapted for Andalusian hospitals. He warned that maintaining such arrangements perpetuates outdated privileges for the Church, particularly in a country where nearly 40% of the population reports having no religion. Naz also linked the agreements’ persistence to broader ideological trends, including the influence of national Catholic traditions and the current political climate.
Healthcare advocates say the government’s priorities are misplaced. Sebastián Martín, spokesperson for Marea Blanca, criticized the decision to expand religious services while public health and preventive care remain underfunded. He questioned the relevance of chaplains in a medical setting, comparing their presence to installing bank offices in hospitals to solve patients’ financial issues. Both organizations are demanding the immediate cancellation of the agreement and the redirection of the €7.4 million to staff recruitment and waiting-list reduction. They also want stronger clinical psychology services, which remain under-resourced in Andalusia compared with national and European averages.
Marea Blanca also brought its objections to the Andalusian Parliament in a protest staged around what it called the “burial of healthcare.” Demonstrators dressed as priests used satire to criticize the regional government’s priorities, linking chaplaincy funding to broader demands for public-health investment and opposition to referrals to private providers. The protest formed part of a wider dispute over healthcare spending that extends beyond the chaplaincy agreement.
At Seville’s Virgen del Rocío hospital, one of the region’s largest, five Catholic chaplains currently serve patients and staff, although the agreement stipulates seven and a half full-time positions. Their duties include visiting patients, supporting healthcare workers and providing spiritual care during illness and bereavement. Payments for these roles go directly to the Church; full-time chaplains receive €18,496 annually from the regional government. The hospital’s chaplains share a small office and typically visit around 22 patients per shift. One chaplain said demand for religious support remains high among patients, regardless of official statistics on religious practice.
The regional government defends the agreement by citing its long-standing nature and notes that similar, though unpaid, arrangements have existed with the Evangelical Church since 2011. The Evangelical agreement involves no financial compensation. The government also says chaplains are employed by the Church, not the health service, and must provide proof of a clean criminal record, particularly regarding sexual offenses, before working with patients.
Public funding for religious services in healthcare remains contentious. The debate in Andalusia echoes broader national discussions about religion’s role in state institutions and the allocation of public resources. Separately, Cádiz Laica has argued that a public hospital is an impressive, universal service that must serve society with strict neutrality. Its statement followed a Vox proposal to give a future hospital a religious dedication, rather than addressing the chaplaincy agreement directly. Similar tensions have surfaced in other regions, including Valencia, where recent policy changes by the PP and Vox have drawn criticism for prioritizing ideological measures over social spending. For example, recent reforms in Valencia have tightened access to social aid and introduced tax cuts favoring higher earners, sparking debate over government priorities.
The chaplaincy controversy also sits within a wider dispute over the balance between public healthcare capacity and contracted services. In a separate debate, PSOE-A parliamentary spokesperson for Presidency, Health and Emergencies Mario Jiménez criticized a Junta structure agreement worth €600 million for diagnostic tests performed outside public hospitals, describing the policy as contempt for public healthcare. That figure concerns external diagnostic contracts, not religious assistance. Spain’s constitution enshrines the principle of state secularism, but agreements with religious organizations remain embedded in various public services. In Andalusia, renewed funding for Catholic chaplains highlights the tension between tradition and calls for a more secular, needs-based approach to public spending. The debate’s outcome may influence future policy decisions across Spain as regions weigh historical agreements against contemporary demands for healthcare investment.
