MADRID (LifeSiteNews) — A new report in Spain claims that Cardinal José Cobo Cano improperly authorized government plans to introduce civil uses inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross at the Valley of the Fallen.
On May 6, Spanish outlet Religión Confidencial published details of legal report submitted in ongoing court actions against a March 2025 agreement signed by Spanish Minister Félix Bolaños García and Cobo Cano of Madrid concerning the future of the Valle de los Caídos (“Valley of the Fallen”).
The report argues that Cobo Cano lacked canonical authority to negotiate on behalf of the Benedictine abbey attached to the basilica and that the government’s project to introduce “civil and secular” uses inside the monument violates international agreements, canon law, and the Spanish Constitution.
“The Basilica, even though owned by the State, maintains its character as a Catholic temple while the Holy See does not reduce it to profane use,” the legal report states.
The legal opinions form part of the documentation attached to lawsuits challenging the agreement that allowed the Spanish government to proceed with an international competition aimed at the “reinterpretation” of the Valley complex.
The Abbey of the Holy Cross was established directly by Pope Pius XII through the 1958 Apostolic Brief Stat Crux as a sui iuris exempt abbey entrusted to the Benedictines. The jurists maintain that this status means the institution depends directly on the Roman Pontiff and not on the Archdiocese of Madrid, the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, or the Vatican Secretariat of State.
For that reason, the report argues that Cardinal Cobo did not possess juridical authority to sign agreements affecting the abbey or its basilica. According to the legal analysis, only the abbot or prior administrator is canonically authorized to act on behalf of the Benedictine community.
The report further states that the administration of certain assets connected to the Foundation of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen had already been entrusted specifically to the Benedictine prior under the founding agreements issued in 1958.
This legal opinion focuses on the government’s proposal to combine Catholic worship with “civil and secular” activities inside the basilica itself. According to the jurists, the Basilica of the Holy Cross was canonically erected by Pius XII as an exclusively religious space and therefore benefits from treaty protections established under the 1979 agreements between the Holy See and the Spanish State.
Articles 1.1 and 1.5 of those agreements guarantee the Church’s freedom to organize its activities and recognize the inviolability of places of worship. According to the jurists, those protections apply regardless of who holds “civil ownership of the property.”
The experts also argue that Spain’s Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory and Royal Decree Law 10/2023 through which efforts were made to unilaterally change the destiny of the Basilica conflict with the concordat because they attempt to impose secular functions within a canonically protected Catholic temple.
Such measures would also affect the protection of religious liberty contained in the Spanish Constitution.
The legal analyses additionally invoke Canons 1205 and 1212 of the Code of Canon Law, which state that sacred places lose their religious designation only through a decree issued by the competent ecclesiastical authority. This means the Spanish State cannot alter the basilica’s canonical status through domestic legislation alone.
The report finally states that “the State also cannot modify the juridical condition of the Basilica, nor its exclusive use for worship, through internal law,” because the 1979 accords possess the status of an international treaty protected under the Spanish Constitution.
The controversy surrounding Cardinal Cobo’s role intensified after reports published earlier this year alleged that he had signed a secret agreement with the Spanish government in March 2025 concerning the redesign of the basilica complex. On January 20, 2026, the Spanish newspaper El Debate stated that the agreement permitted large portions of the basilica interior to undergo artistic and museum-style interventions while limiting liturgical worship primarily to the altar area.
The Valley of the Fallen, located near Madrid, was built during the rule of General Francisco Franco and includes a basilica excavated into rock, a Benedictine abbey, a monumental cross, and burial grounds containing remains from both sides of the Spanish Civil War. The site has remained politically controversial for decades.
The legal reports now submitted before Spanish courts add further arguments against the government’s redesign project and place renewed attention on Cardinal Cobo’s authority to negotiate changes affecting a pontifical basilica directly subject to the Holy See as well as on his suitability for the delicate role he holds.