May 23, 2011
By Borja Bergareche
MADRID—Antonio de la Calle, a 46-year-old priest who runs the church of the Patrocinio del Señor in the Vallecas neighborhood, has been playing God to avoid his neighbors’ descent into hell. In this working-class neighborhood of more than 300,000 people, the most extreme consequences of the economic crisis roiling Spain are transforming day-to-day life. The door of the church is never locked.
Last Easter, a man came in, heated and nervous. “Antonio, I can’t stand it any more. You have to help me. For two months I have heard my kid complaining that he is hungry. I’ve been unemployed for a year and a half. I’m no longer entitled to unemployment payments and my wife isn’t eligible for the emergency subsidy. Either you help me or I will start selling drugs at the corner. I cannot take it any longer.”
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