The Judges who visited the Sagrada Família avoid meeting with the Temple Association

They twice refused to greet Rigol and Sistach and did not enter the temple

The president of the Association of the Sagrada Família, Joan Rigol, and the Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, left the church in a bit of a huff because the four judges from the National Court of Spain, who were visiting the high-speed rail construction site and its route adjacent to the temple, refused to greet them in two instances. Rigol and Sistach were waiting inside the Sagrada Família but the magistrates, accompanied by the architect and the lawyer for the Sagrada Família, did not go in.

The visit was made on a request from the public prosecutor, who wants to prove that the section of the tunnel that goes under Mallorca Street will not affect the foundations nor put the building in any real danger, despite assertions to the contrary by the Association of the Sagrada Família. In fact, it was the association that brought the suit, with the understanding that the route under this particular street would affect not only the temple but 800 neighboring buildings.

This decision forms part of the action that the Contentious-Administrative Court opened at the request of the temple association.

The 8th Circuit denied, for the second time, in April, the suspension of the tunnel construction that is to connect the Sagrera and Sants stations, arguing that there was no substantial change with respect to the first time that case was brought before them and that nothing is endangering the temple. At the same time, the National Court requested all of the information about the high-speed rail and that it be notified about any changes that might alter the original design of the excavations.

The organization AVE pel Litoral has distributed a press release (pdf) about the judges' visit. In the release, addressed to the public prosecutor, the members of the organization denounce the fact that no-one is taking into account the 18,000 homes that in its opinion are in grave danger from the construction. They complain that only the value of the Sagrada Família is being taken into account while their homes are also 'sacred'.

Originally published on Vilaweb on 23/sep/09 at 14:25h