The Archdiocese of Braga will appeal judgment of the Braga Court that ruled that Parque da Ponte, in that city, is owned by the municipality, considering it “absolutely wicked”.
“It is a truly unjust sentence, we cannot understand how the court came to this conclusion,” Canon José Paulo Abreu, of the Archdiocese of Braga, told Lusa today.
He added that the documents that the archdiocese has in its possession “are unequivocal” in relation to the ownership of the park, so an appeal will be filed.
The Archdiocese of Braga filed a lawsuit against the Braga Chamber, asking to be declared as the exclusive and legitimate owner of the Parque de S. João da Ponte, in that city.
In action, the archdiocese also requested that the use and partial occupation that the municipality makes of that space be declared illicit and abusive and that the municipality be obliged to refrain from using, enjoying, using and occupying the park.
Parque da Ponte in Braga belongs to the Chamber and not to the Archdiocese, the Court decided
The archdiocese also wanted the municipality to be condemned to give back the part of that car park that it occupied with a car park in the state it was in, free and unoccupied for people and goods.
The court, by judgment of 19 November, to which Lusa had access today, gave no reason to the archdiocese and condemned it to recognize that Parque de S. João da Ponte is part of the public domain of the municipality of Braga.
He also decided to order the Conservatório do Registo Predial de Braga and the Braga Finance Service to proceed with the cancellation of the documents and records that gave possession of those lands to the archdiocese.
In a statement issued before the lawsuit was judged, the archdiocese accused the Chamber of “wanting to appropriate” the park, guaranteeing that it had documents since the 15th century “that prove that the Catholic Church is the owner of Parque da Mitra, where the Chapel of S. João da Ponte ”.
He added that the Chamber “does not have, never had, any type of title of possession over that territory”.
She said she was “pushed by the Chamber to the court”, claiming that she has tried “many times” to reach an agreement, but without success.
At the same time, the Mayor, Ricardo Rio, said that the municipality “does not want to take ownership of anything” and “has no interest in discussing the issue of ownership” of the park.
“Ownership for me is absolutely irrelevant, but the archdiocese has decided to move to the court and the court will have to decide. The important thing was to define the rules for using that space, and I tried a consensus several times, but it was not possible. What I can’t do is give the Church a space that I am told belongs to the municipality, ”he added.
Stage of the festivities of S. João, the Parque da Ponte includes in its interior the Chapel dedicated to that saint, churchyard and patio, in addition to images, cruises, bandstand and “abundant tree cover”.
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