Spain hands list of 1,000 contested church properties to local authorities
Madrid, SpainReuters 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 on Thursday, 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 […]
Who owns the church? Sudan court puts elders on trial for trespass and theft
World Watch Monitor A criminal case against eight leaders of a Sudan church is testing the application of a law that puts church property under the control of the government. The eight leaders of the Sudanese Church of Christ were arrested in August, 2017, after they refused to hand over control of the church’s property to a […]
India court affirms priests’ right to property despite poverty oath
RNS/Thomson Reuters Foundation A high court in southern India has ruled that Christian priests and nuns are entitled to their right to property despite their vows of poverty, signaling an end to a centuries-old tradition that has left many in the clergy destitute. In its order last week in favor of a priest whose relatives […]