News
Walsh retires
Church wants lengthy
pre-marriage course
A training course for couples preparing
to marry has been launched by the
Roman Catholic church in Spain. Since
divorce was legalised in 1981 and then
made easier in 2005, the failure rate of
marriages has risen alarmingly and the
church sees its plan as a way of tackling
the problem.
Presently, couples are required to
attend 20 hours of lessons before
taking their vows, but the Spanish
Episcopal Conference says this is
inadequate. Its members are proposing
a two-year period of study entitled “On
the path together.”
Irish businessman Willie Walsh
(pictured) is to retire as CEO of
International Airlines Group next
month. He will be succeeded by Luis
Gallego, presently chief executive of
Iberia. As well as the Spanish national
carrier, the Group also includes British
Airways, Aer Lingus and Vueling
amongst other carriers.
Ryanair retreats
Ryanair has closed its bases on Tenerife,
Lanzarote and Gran Canaría, blaming,
“the continued late delivery of the
Boeing Max aircraft.” Local media said
over 200 jobs, including pilots and cabin
crew, have been lost. The carrier has
confirmed that more of its bases,
including more in Spain, will be reduced
or will close this year.
Family friendly
Spain has been placed 15th in a list of 73
countries ordered by their qualities for
raising a family. The 65 criteria
considered by authors of the Best
Country report included safety, income
equality, healthcare and education
systems. Denmark, Sweden and Norway
made up the top three and the UK was
placed 11th, while the wooden spoon
went to Kazakhstan.
Farewell pesetas
The Bank of Spain says 2020 is the last
year during which pesetas can be
exchanged for euros. It estimates that
almost 132,000 million pesetas (€800
million) are still sitting in piggy banks or
down the backs of settees. The deadline
for changing pesetas at the Bank of
Spain in Madrid or any other Banco de
España office is December 31, at the rate
of €1 = 166.386 ptas.
The course will cover 12 subjects
including “communication,” “fidelity,”
“the beauty of sexuality” and “conflict
resolution” which will “accompany,
prepare and help young couples
towards the matrimonial vocation.”
During the course, the church
recommends “chastity.”
Launching the initiative last month,
the Bishop of Bilbao, Mario Iceta,
who also chairs the Episcopal
Conference’s family committee,
claimed “40 per cent of marriages are
broken after five years, and 60 per
cent after 15 years.” He added, “We
want to avoid this.”
As Spain’s divorce rate rose to an
estimated 51.2 per 100 marriages, the
rate of weddings also dropped in
recent years. According to the National
Statistics Institute, church weddings hit
a low point in the first half of 2016,
accounting for only 22 per cent of all
weddings in the country. In the early
2000s, three out of four Spanish
weddings were held in a Catholic
church.
Christmas Eve tragedy
in Mijas
The tragic drownings of a British
man and two of his young children in
Mijas on Christmas Eve remains
unresolved. The 53-year-old and his
family from London were spending
the holiday on a complex in the town
when his nine-year-old daughter
reportedly got into difficulties in a
swimming pool.
The man and his 16-year-old son
dived in to help her, but all three
died in the incident. The man’s wife
and other son were in their holiday
villa at the time and raised the alarm,
but, they claimed, that by the time
assistance came it was too late.
Police issued a statement which said
that their initial investigations
concluded it had been a “tragic
accident” caused by the victims’ “lack
of expertise” in swimming. The
operator of the holiday complex,
Club La Costa World, stated that the
pool was “working normally,”
although the daughter’s swimming
cap had been found in the pool
pump. It also confirmed there were
no lifeguards on duty because the
12
unheated pool was so small it was
“not necessary.”
Media reports that the victims could
not swim were later denied by the
family whose lawyer has questioned
the thoroughness of the police
enquiry. The wife and mother of the
deceased has also claimed that there
had been a fault with the pool and
confirmed that the children had not
been left unattended.
Investigations are continuing but
already experts have raised suspicions
about the pool which has a single
drainage outlet. European guidelines,
as well as standards issued by the
UK’s Federation of Tour Operators,
state there should be two drains
situated two metres apart. A single
drain, they warn, can create a strong
vortex, which can drag swimmers
down leaving them unable to escape.
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