Spain's government handed over a list of almost 1,000 properties claimed by the Catholic Church on contested legal grounds to a federation of local authorities yesterday, taking a first step towards resolving long-running feuds over ownership.
The conflict stems from a law introduced by former conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in 1998 that allowed the Church to register properties linked to religious practice as possessions, even without proof of ownership.
Earlier this week the Church said that, following a a case-by-case review, it could not prove ownership of 965 of them and agreed to cooperate with local authorities to determine their true ownership.
Two weeks ago, the Church bowed to pressure to launch an inquiry into historical allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.
Minister Felix Bolanos, who is handling negotiations with the Church, thanked the organisation for its cooperation but added: "This is a good start but it's not the end... We will keep studying different assets so that, when appropriate, they can be returned to their rightful owners."
It said there was "insufficient information" to determine ownership of more than 600 properties.
"This does not necessarily mean that they are not theirs but...they will have to be the subject of further analysis," Fernando Gimenez Barriocanal, head of economic affairs at the body representing Spanish bishops, wrote in conservative newspaper El Mundo yesterday.
Recuperando, an association pushing for such properties to be placed in public ownership, said the Church's recognition of the first list could be a trap "that seeks to consolidate the appropriation of the rest".