Outrage In Spain Over Exhibitionistic Display Of Children At Mardi Gras Parade

In Spain, there has been an outcry from a bishop and civil society over a celebration of carnival where scantily-dressed boys and girls wearing provocative lingerie in a public display of support for the LGBTQ+ agenda.

Attorney Polonia Castellanos, who leads the nonprofit association of Christian Lawyers of Spain, told CNA that her group has filed a complaint with a court in Torrevieja, a city on Spain’s Mediterranean shore, charging local officials and a LGBTQ carnival krewe with corrupting children in an exhibitionistic parade on the day before the beginning of Lent. If convicted, the accused could face as many nine years in prison when the children involved are under 16 years of age.

“Apart from putting these children on display as if they were prostitutes, the city council of Torrevieja has awarded a prize. That is too far,” Castellanos told CNA. “We believe this exhibitionism serves to encourage pederasts. This cannot allow them to corrupt children’s innocence this way. This is still a crime in Spain, thank God. But this hyper-sexualization of children, I believe, is leading to the legalization of pederastry,” she continued. “This was a carnival for pederasts,” she said.

For its part, the city government of Torrevieja dismissed criticisms, releasing a statement  in support of the “carnival family and the board of directors of the Carnival Cultural Association” of the city. “We are certain that the intention of the fathers and mothers was not to hypersexualize their children,” the statement read, going on emphasize that it came in the “context” of criticizing the “political and social situation of Spain.” The government said it will not “censor nor supervise the costumes used by the carnival krewes,” saying that “Carnival is criticism, satire, provocation, and fun.”

The government of Torrevieja gave a prize to Audacity Krewe – which sponsored the display of the children – for the costumes.

Bishop José Ignacio Munilla wrote on social media that the widely distributed video of the children was “denigrating.” He wrote: “One can conclude that our authorities do not even believe in the laws that they themselves promulgate; as is the case of the Comprehensive Child Protection Law, which came into force in 2021.” The bishop of Orihuela-Alicante cited first article of that law, which reads: “The law aims to guarantee the fundamental rights of children and adolescents to their physical, mental, psychological and moral integrity against any form of violence, ensuring the free development of their personality and establishing comprehensive protection measures, which include awareness, prevention, early detection, protection and repair of damage in all areas in which their lives develop.”

Referring to members of the Popular Party and the Socialist Party sitting on the Torrevieja city council, Castellanos asked, “I would like to know if they allow their children to dress this way and go out in public and make videos. I’m a mother of four girls, and I would never allow that because it encourages pederasts.”

Apart from government support for the carnival exhibitionism, Castellanos said that various local governments are distributing pornographic comic books in schools and at Christmas parades. “All of this is being done to destroy childhood; it’s a war on innocence,” she said.

“In Spain, we have a problem. Lately, Spanish people are cowards. Even though Spain has been a land of great explorers, where we expelled French invaders and communists, of late we are cowardly. I don’t know if it is out of fear of the current government or subsidies, but all of this is happening because of cowardice,” she said.

Fr. Custodio Ballester, a priest who has had run-ins with the government, told CNA that very few Catholic bishops appear willing to address the moral decline in their country. “The bishops are fearful and, because the Church receives state funding, they are reluctant to antagonize the government. Charity in the form of material aid to the poor is all well and good for the government, but the charity of the sharing of the love of Jesus Christ and condemning sin is unacceptable,” he said.

“It is this fear, with few exceptions, that has led to the environment of the sexualization of children,” Ballester said.

Martin Barillas is the author of 'Shaken Earth', which is available at Amazon.