Franco’s Holy War and The Catholic Church

In this episode, historian Pablo Sánchez León joins Alan to explore the powerful and often disturbing alliance between the Catholic Church and the Franco regime. We go beyond the conventional narrative of the Spanish Civil War to uncover how the conflict functioned as a modern Catholic holy war — framed not just as a political struggle, but as a divine crusade to purify Spain.

We discuss how anti-clerical violence was weaponised by Francoist propaganda to dehumanise Republicans as non-Spanish, even non-human, casting them as enemies of the faith rather than political opponents. Pablo explains how this fusion of religion and repression ultimately turned inward, contributing to the regime’s long-term instability.

We also look at how these narratives still shape Spain’s political memory today, and why the Church’s complicity — and later dissent — remains an unresolved part of the democratic transition.

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