Two priests from Lleida, the parish priests of La Pobla de Segur and that of Alcarràs, are being investigated by the Mossos d'Esquadra for alleged crimes of misappropriation. The one from La Pobla de Segur is being investigated for allegedly taking money from an elderly man's checking account and the one from Alcarràs for allegedly tricking an elderly neighbor into donating money to him.
The investigation of the priest of La Pobla de Segur (Lleida) for alleged misappropriation of money from the checking account of a resident of the municipally owned Residència Nostra Senyora de Ribera nursing home began in October. The old man's family filed a complaint with the Mossos after being warned by the center that there was not enough money in the account to pay a fee.
The mayor of La Pobla de Segur, Marc Baró, assures that the City Council has been aware of the case that is being investigated for two months. According to the municipal technicians, they detected that there were departures from this man's account that he was reluctant to explain what had happened. “The family and the technicians detected that he was allegedly the priest and we asked the Bishopric of Urgell, to which he belongs, to remove him from the residence,” says the mayor.
The Bishopric of Urgell has removed the priest from the celebration of the nursing home mass and has opened “an internal investigation into the reported events” according to a statement from the diocese in which it states that it will collaborate with justice in whatever is appropriate. in order to clarify these facts” and asks “that the right that every person has to a good reputation and the presumption of innocence be respected.”
In the case of the parish priest of Alcarràs, the Mossos d'Esquadra began the investigation in March. They received a complaint stating that an elderly neighbor had been tricked into donating a certain amount of money to the priest. The process is already in the investigation phase and the person under investigation, who is still active, would have received a court summons in September, although it was finally postponed sine die, according to the newspaper Segre.
The Bishopric of Lleida, to which Alcarràs belongs, aware of the complaint presented to one of the priests of its diocese for an alleged case of misappropriation, assured this Wednesday that as soon as it became aware of this accusation it opened an internal investigation to try to clarify the facts, listening to the arguments of the priest who is pointed out, and starting from his right to the presumption of innocence.
In the same line as the Bishopric of Urgell, the Bishopric of Lleida has highlighted that when it became aware of the presentation of a formal complaint to the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Bishopric of Lleida made itself available to the investigators for anything that could be useful.
Furthermore, he assures that since the case is currently being prosecuted, the Bishopric wants to show scrupulous respect for the work of Justice to discern the hypothetical responsibilities of the person denounced, which is why it will not make comments "that may involve any interference in this process."
