Completely agree, plus let's not overlook the fact that the church in Spain, as elsewhere, provided services, especially hospitals, orphanages etc, which were not provided by the state. These same hospitals took in sick and wounded British stragglers, among others, and cared for them.

In Spain priests also provided much of the leadership and focus of resistance to the French invasions. In the country villages, peasants rallied behind their priests and marched under their parish banners. There are numerous accounts of this, and of priests defending their people - even sacrificially. Exploitation? I don't think so.

I won't bother to answer the allegation of "thought control". It's what people who dislike someone else's belief system allege against it. There is no value-neutral belief system; everyone has an agenda. Liberalism, democracy, radicalism all have their agendas and anyone who argues for theirs is guilty of "thought control".

Cheers

C