Isidro Gomá y Tomás
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Isidro Gomá y Tomás (19 August 1869 – 22 August 1940) was the Bishop of Tarazona in the province of Zaragoza known for his strong support of
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
and the National Movement during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. He was also later made
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
and Archbishop of Toledo and was Primate of Spain. Gomá was an ''integrista'', in the technical sense in believing in the necessity of a 'Confessional State' that imposes upon all its subjects the profession and practice of the Roman Catholic religion and prohibits all others. At the end of the Spanish Civil War he wrote; "The Church has applied the full weight of her prestige, which has been placed at the service of truth and justice, to bring about the triumph of the National Cause." Gunpowder and Incense, p.55 Isidro Gomá y Tomás was born in the Catalan town of
La Riba La Riba is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the ''Comarques of Catalonia, comarca'' of Alt Camp, province of Tarragona, Tarragona, Catalonia, in north-eastern Spain. The Prades Mountains are located near this municipality. From this foun ...
, Spain. He was educated at the Seminary of Tarragona, and the Seminary of Valencia.


Priesthood

He was ordained on 8 June 1895 in Tarragona. He did pastoral work in the
archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
of Tarragona until 1897 after which he worked as a faculty member of the Pontifical Seminary of Tarragona from 1897 until 1899. He served as its
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
until 1906. He was also a faculty member of the Pontifical University of Tarragona from 1897 until 1899. He worked in the diocesan curia until 1927.


Episcopate

He was appointed as bishop of Tarazona on 20 June 1927 by
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
. He was appointed as apostolic administrator of
Tudela Tudela may refer to: *Tudela, Navarre, a town and municipality in northern Spain ** Benjamin of Tudela Medieval Jewish traveller ** William of Tudela, Medieval troubadour who wrote the first part of the ''Song of the Albigensian Crusade'' ** Battl ...
from December 1927 until June 1933. He was promoted to the metropolitan and primatial see of
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...
on 12 April 1933.


Cardinalate

He was created Cardinal-Priest of ''
San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante. History The Church of San Pietro in ...
'' in the consistory of 16 December 1935 by
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
. He strongly supported the National Movement during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. He participated in the conclave of 1939 that elected
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
. He died in 1940. In 1938, when it was evident that the Nationalists had the upper hand, Gomá made it clear that reconciliation was not forthcoming and contributed to the fervor of
White Terror White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...
: "Indeed, it is necessary to end the war. But do not let it end with a compromise, with an agreement nor with reconciliation. It is necessary to take hostilities to the point of achieving victory at the point of a sword. Let the reds surrender, since they have been beaten. There is no pacification possible other than through arms. In order to organise peace within a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
constitution it is vital to uproot all the rot of secular legislation.""Civil War and the Catholic Church"
"Spain then and now", 14 February 2014
"Archived"
from the original on June 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
His fiery preaching, including exhortations to massacre the "reds" and his repeated benedictions of Franco's guns and tanks, were loudly shamed by Catholic French writer
Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...
, then a right wing sympathiser, in his book "
Les grands cimetières sous la lune ''Les Grands Cimetières sous la Lune'' (1938; English: literally, ''The Great Cemeteries Under the Moon'', English title when published; ''A Diary of My Times'') is a book by novelist Georges Bernanos which fiercely condemns the atrocities carried ...
" (The great graveyards under the moonlight), a first-hand account, with pamphletary overtones, of the Spanish Civil War which he witnessed in the Balearic island of
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
. According to Antony Beevor:
Cardinal Gomá stated that 'Jews and Masons poisoned the national soul with absurd doctrine'... A few brave priests put their lives at risk by criticizing nationalist atrocities, but the majority of the clergy in nationalist areas revelled in their new-found power and the increased size of their congregations. Anyone who did not attend Mass faithfully was likely to be suspected of 'red' tendencies. Entrepreneurs made a great money selling religious symbols... It was reminiscent of the way the Inquisition's persecutions of Jews and Moors helped make pork such an important part of the Spanish diet.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goma y Tomas, Isidro 1869 births 1940 deaths People from Alt Camp 20th-century Spanish cardinals Archbishops of Toledo Acción Española category:Bishops of Tarazona