The Process of Registering the Immovable Goods of the Catholic Church in Spanish Law: Reflections from the Standpoint of Recent Jurisprudence

Abstract

This article shows in a syn-thetic ay the evolution of the system of registration of immovable property of the Catholic Church in Spanish Law. Historically, the Church has enjoyed a special regime for the registration of its real estate, which seemed to contradict the principle of secularism and equality between religious confessions established by the 1978 Constitution. This prompted some legislative changes, introduced in the years 1998 and 2015. This period of transition and the subsequent adaptation to the new regime has led to several legal conflicts that put into discussion the constitutional principles and the real reasons for such regulatory changes. The author shows in this work how, beyond the principles and legal norms, political activism has been very present - and still is - in the evolution of the legal-registry treatment of the assets of the Catholic Church in Spain.