Redes Cristianas' two-fold leaflet "A DESINMATRICULAR!" which you can see in the Redes Cristianas editorial* of 4th October 2022 focuses on finding solutions to resolve the scandal of the large number of public properties secretly registered in the name of the Catholic Church in Spain without the knowledge of the local inhabitants: 34,961 between 1998 and 2015 according to the Spanish government but close on 100,000 according to the NGO Recuperando, if one takes into account the period between 1946 and 2015, when the government banned the Spanish Catholic Church from further registrations.

This issue is well known to some Spaniards but relatively unknown to others and probably totally unknown to people in other countries, so we thought it was important to explain the background.

"Inmatricular" means to register a property for the first time. In 1946, during Franco's dictatorship, the Ley Hipotecaria (Mortgage Law) allowed Catholic bishops to register historic buildings in the public domain as property of the Catholic Church, as long as they were not buildings of religious worship. In 1998 the Aznar government extended the right of immatriculation to include all historic religious buildings even if such properties had been maintained by the state or local administrations.

In the current legislature, the Spanish Parliament has approved a decree stating that

the Catholic Church can only sell immatriculated properties to the State or to legal entities that demonstrate title deeds prior to their immatriculation or proof showing that such properties were considered public property.

Redes Cristianas considers that the Spanish Catholic Church is acting in flagrant contradiction to what it preaches about the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospel and must return the immatriculated properties to the public domain free of charge, since the registration in the Church's name cost practically nothing. These episcopal immatriculations are reminiscent of the usurpation of communal lands by foreign colonists in North and South America and elsewhere in the world.

To read the leaflet, click on: A DESINMATRICULAR and then click on the double arrow at the top right of the page to rotate it clockwise.

The Roundtables at Espacio Ronda on 23 and 24 October will have free access and those unable to attend will be able to follow the debates by streaming.  Links will be posted a couple of days beforehand.

*To read the editorial in English click on Seleccionar idioma on the right hand side of the Redes Cristianas website and then on inglés

Now you can read the English translation of the leaflet as follows:

Years ago, the first citizens' platforms: Navarre, Cordoba and Europa Laica, began to spread their allegations and demands throughout different parts of Spain. Recuperando organised the coordination of all these heritage aspirations arising from different citizen anxieties. Redes Cristianas has, from the start, accompanied this struggle to achieve a national heritage in public ownership.

Cartoon: Stop Immatriculations: I belong to the people not the bishop

The two most important dematriculations achieved by Recuperando, so far, have been the walls of Artá in the Balearic Islands and the church of San Juan de los Panetes in Zaragoza.

This Conference, organised by Redes Cristianas, constitute a further step in the challenging task of returning our heritage to the public domain

REDES CRISTIANAS CONFERENCE ON IMMATRICULATIONS 23 /24 October 2022 - Madrid

Wednesday 19 October (Espacio Ronda, c/Ronda de Segovia 50, Madrid)

11AM. Redes Cristianas Press Conference

Sunday 23rd October (Espacio Ronda, c/Ronda de Segovia 50, Madrid)

5PM Greetings and presentation of the Conference.: Redes Cristianas

5.15PM First Roundtable:  No church without people

Participants:

Fátima Frutos (journalist) / Emilio García (architect) / Juanjo Tamayo (theologian) / Chair: Llum Quiñonero (journalist)

6.30PM The presentation of two books

Los obispos de la Mezquita de Córdoba (The Bishops of the Cordoba Mosque) (Miguel Santiago - Redes Cristianas)

¡No robarás mi fe! (You will not steal my Faith) - (Pascual Larumbe - Plataforma Navarra)

7PM Second Roundtable: Inmatriculations, Actions, Solutions

Participants:

Ana Baragaña (Europa Laica)  / Cristina Fallarás (Journalist) / Jesús Maraña (Journalist) Chair: Luis Ángel Aguilar

Monday 24th October (Espacio Ronda, c/Ronda de Segovia 50, Madrid)

10AM 3rd Roundtable: The legality/legitimacy of the immatriculations

Participants:

Fernando Giménez Barriocanal - for the Catholic Church

Antonio Manuel Rodríguez - for Recuperando

Alberto Herrera - for the Spanish Government

12.30 Civic Act  Outside the Almudena Cathedral, c/ Bailén 8

CLOSURE OF THE CONFERENCE

Reading of the Manifesto and its delivery to the Spanish Government, the Papal Nuncio and the Spanish Bishops Conference.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)