Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers

The Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers (Fundación Española de Abogados Cristianos), commonly known as Abogados Cristianos, is a Spanish civil foundation that legally defends the values of Christianity. It was originally founded in 2008 as a civil association in Valladolid, Castile and León, and in 2021 (with the application made in 2019) it changed its structure from an association to a foundation, as recorded in the Official Gazette of Castile and León. The organization is known in Spain for its active defense of religious sentiment, a figure that exists in the Spanish legal system, specifically in the Penal Code, and which had been largely dormant except for a few exceptions. This specific criminal protection has been the subject of requests for its removal from the legal system for various reasons, from the consideration of the figure itself as archaic to allegations about its possible opposition to the non-confessional nature of the State. The most recent request for its elimination was by the Legal Commission of the Spanish Senate, which approved a motion to urge its removal from the Penal Code in early 2021. To date, the organization has filed dozens of lawsuits alleging offense to religious sentiments (around 25% of criminal cases promoted: Art. 525 of the Penal Code) and hate crimes (Art. 510 of the same law); although its success in the courts could be considered scarce in terms of the number of cases filed or dismissed, it still maintains nearly a hundred open proceedings. In addition, the media revenue that the organization has obtained over the years is notable. Thanks to the impact achieved in the media with its judicial complaints, the foundation's net assets have multiplied by 24 since its constitution, according to its own accounts: it went from 30,000 euros in 2020 to 711,455 euros in 2022, coming from the economic contributions of more than 5,000 donors and more than 3,000 members. Some media outlets have come to categorize the organization as an ultra-Catholic pressure group based on its connections with the Spanish political party Vox, recurrently considered a far-right party. It is also linked to the secret society El Yunque. The organization was founded in 2008 by lawyer Polonia Castellanos and registered as a Castilian-Leonese association based in the city of Valladolid. From the beginning, the association's activity consisted both of raising complaints against actions or speeches that they considered could offend religious sentiments, as well as activities with more involvement such as collecting digital signatures for a petition or lawsuits against someone. Its first case with high media repercussion was the 2012 lawsuit (filed jointly with HazteOir.org) against Italian clown Leo Bassi, which the association managed to elevate to the Supreme Court, although it ended up archiving the case that the organization was trying to make prosper against the artist for dressing up as the Pope during a performance in Valladolid in 2011 during which he mocked various Catholic dogmas and customs. The next media case in which they ventured was a lawsuit against the FEMEN collective in Spain for the performance of five activists who interrupted an anti-abortion march in Madrid. On this occasion, Abogados Cristianos' lawsuit was for exhibitionism and for a crime against the exercise of Fundamental Rights and Public Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution (Arts. 185 and 514.4 of the Penal Code respectively). These were added to the charges for public disorder and resistance to authority alleged by the security forces for the official action. Against FEMEN they later filed another lawsuit for chaining themselves to the central crucifix of the Almudena Cathedral (Madrid) in a protest against abortion. Finally, the Provincial Court of Madrid ruled in favor of Abogados Cristianos and the activists were convicted of a crime of desecration.

The organization of Abogados Cristianos was founded in 2008 by lawyer Polonia Castellanos and registered as a Castilian-Leonese association based in the city of Valladolid. From the beginning, the association's activity consisted both of raising complaints against actions or speeches that they considered could offend religious sentiments, as well as activities with more involvement such as collecting digital signatures for a petition or lawsuits against someone. The first case with high media repercussion was the 2012 lawsuit (filed jointly with HazteOir.org) against Italian clown Leo Bassi, which the association managed to elevate to the Supreme Court, although it ended up archiving the case that the organization was trying to make prosper against the artist for dressing up as the Pope during a performance in Valladolid in 2011 during which he mocked various Catholic dogmas and customs. The next media case in which they ventured was a lawsuit against the FEMEN collective in Spain for the performance of five activists who interrupted an anti-abortion march in Madrid. On this occasion, Abogados Cristianos' lawsuit was for exhibitionism and for a crime against the exercise of Fundamental Rights and Public Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution (Arts. 185 and 514.4 of the Penal Code respectively). These were added to the charges for public disorder and resistance to authority alleged by the security forces for the official action. Against FEMEN they later filed another lawsuit for chaining themselves to the central crucifix of the Almudena Cathedral (Madrid) in a protest against abortion. Finally, the Provincial Court of Madrid ruled in favor of Abogados Cristianos and the activists were convicted of a crime of desecration. Between 2014 and 2015, its most media-covered causes were again the defense of religious sentiments rather than activities against the pro-abortion movement. Thus, some of the most notorious activities were the 2014 lawsuit against Manuel Borja-Villel, director of the Reina Sofía Museum, for the exhibition Un saber realmente útil, by the Argentine collective Mujeres Públicas. And the following year's lawsuit against the controversial Madrid artist Abel Azcona for his exhibition Enterrados exhibited at the Monument to the Fallen in Pamplona, which won the artist judicial cases from the Traditionalist Carlist Union, the archdiocese of Pamplona and Tudela (representing the Catholic Church) and even the Government Delegation in Navarra. The case ended up archived both in the Superior Court of Justice of Navarra and later on appeal to the Supreme Court. Following the archiving of the cases, Abogados Cristianos will sue Spain before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, a lawsuit that will be admitted for processing by the Court. Currently the case is awaiting resolution. In the case of Abel Azcona, each time the exhibition was inaugurated in another jurisdiction. Finally the artist decided to declare himself in disobedience, which led Abogados Cristianos to add the cause of obstruction of justice and the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia to issue a search and capture order against him. In 2019, the artist decided to leave Spain and settle in Lisbon. Also in 2015 Abogados Cristianos would initiate a very controversial lawsuit against the doctors who treated the Galician girl Andrea, a minor with an en...

• 2021

  Changed its structure from an association to a foundation, as recorded in the Official Gazette of Castile and León (application made in 2019).

• 2015

  Filed a lawsuit against artist Abel Azcona over his exhibition Enterrados; also initiated a lawsuit against doctors who treated the Galician girl Andrea.

• 2014

  Filed a lawsuit against Manuel Borja-Villel, director of the Reina Sofía Museum, over the exhibition Un saber realmente útil.

• 2012

  Filed a lawsuit (jointly with HazteOir.org) against Italian clown Leo Bassi, elevated to the Supreme Court.

• 2008

  Founded by lawyer Polonia Castellanos as a Castilian-Leonese association based in Valladolid.

A civil foundation that legally defends Christian values, known for its active defense of religious sentiment and high-profile litigation.

Product categories. Legal representation and litigation · Public campaigns and petitions · Legal defense of religious sentiment

1. 1Inicio - Abogados Cristianosabogadoscristianos.es
2. 2Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Fundación Española de Abogados Cristianos - Wikipediaes.wikipedia.org