The number of incidents registered in the worship centers of the diocese of Girona has been reduced by a third since 2021. If then, a total of 22 were registered, in the last year there have been only seven.
According to data provided by the Bishopric of Girona, five of the seven incidents recorded by the Mossos d'Esquadra between January and December 2023 in religious centers and hermitages were robberies. There was also an occupation and a fire.
The fire affected the hermitage of Sant Sebastià de Bescanó and resulted in the arrest of a man in his 80s for an alleged crime against historical heritage with an aggravating factor of ideological motives. The man would have wanted to burn down the temple when he thought that a mosque was going to be built in its place.
Progressively, the number of robberies in temples in the Girona district has been reducing. If in 2021 there were 22; In 2022 there were 12 and this past 2023 there were only seven. These are lower figures compared to those suffered by the diocese in the first part of the 2010s.
Since then, the Mossos deployed a device that has made it possible to reduce events thanks to greater communication between the police stations and the different archpriests. From the Bishopric, they also especially value the advice and security advice received in the parishes regarding new scams and the dissemination of campaigns.
In the diocese of Girona, which includes the counties of Alt and Baix Empordà, Gironès, Selva, Garrotxa, Pla de l'Estany and part of the Maresme, there are more than 1,100 temples.
The data, which the Bishopric announced today, was presented this Wednesday within the framework of the last follow-up meeting held periodically by officials of the Bishopric of Girona and the Mossos d'Esquadra.
On behalf of the Church, the diocesan administrator, Lluís Suñer and the media delegate, Xavier Roca, will participate in the meeting; and on behalf of the Mossos, the Chief Commissioner of the police region of Girona, Sílvia Catà, and sub-inspector Rosa Negre.
