Well, yes, it seems to have started with Franco, but even then, the church had it's involvement, and whereas it seems to have started out politically, it's then carried on, by the church, and done for 'moral' reasons.   And of course it's not really a past issue since it continued into the 90s!

Boudi, just how much that the church has done over the centuries has been for 'political' as opposed to 'theological' reasons?  Sadly, far too much, from Crusades and Inquisitions to this kind of thing.  When an organisation like the church is a 'state' organisation, dictatorships have massive influence over what happens.  I agree that this type of thing oughtn't to happen, but when appointments of Bishops, priests, Archbishops - even Popes - become as much political issues as anything else, the issue of human frailty and weakness in the face of such pressure will always raise its ugly head.