Vatican City, Jul 21, 2020 / 07:45 am
The Vatican stated Tuesday that Pope Francis did not intervene in last year's controversy over the exhumation of the body of Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen in Spain.
In a statement sent July 21, the Vatican said that the Holy See had urged dialogue between the family of Franco and the government, but never "made any declaration on either the exhumation or the place of burial, because it is not part of its competency."
"On the question of Francisco Franco's exhumation, [the Holy See] has repeated on various occasions its respect for the legality and the decisions of the competent governmental and judicial authorities," it said.
Franco's body was exhumed from the Basilica of the Holy Cross at the Valley of the Fallen Oct. 24, 2019. It was re-interred in Madrid's El Pardo cemetery.