France: the city of Dinan attempts to auction off the basilica’s confessionals
The city of Dinan, in Britanny, attempted to auction off the confessionals of Saint-Sauveur basilica, considering them “without interest from the point of view of national heritage”. The asking price of one was 100€, and a buyer offered 199€ for it.
In an article published by Ouest-France last October 28th, the city hall defended itself stating that “they were no longer used by parishes.” “We could keep them and let them deteriorate, throw them away, or sell them, since someone else might find a use for them,” said Simon Guinebaud, the city hall representative in charge of national heritage.
Bishop Denis Moutel of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier heard of the sale through the press and obtained on October 2014 that the three confessionals be withdrawn from the market. In the edition of Ouest-France dated October 29th, the prelate said he was “surprised and shocked by the news,” and that he protested “strongly against such a sale.” He explained that “a confessional is not an ordinary piece of furniture. It is a place proper to the celebration of a sacrament and it can never be put to another use. Moreover, this sale is illegal since this communal property is protected permanently by its legal and exclusive allocation to religious worship. This quite clearly means that the city of Dinan may not sell these confessionals.”
Following Bishop Moutel’s request, the postings were deleted from the auction site. The authorities defended themselves claiming that the decision to remove the three confessionals had been taken with the approval of the local parish priest.
(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – Ouest-France – DICI no. 304, 07/11/14)
For further reading :
France: Two Churches for Sale by Classified Ad in Bordeaux
