GRANADA – A Catholic archbishop has been ordered to pay a fine of EUR 3,750 for injuries to a priest in Spain’s first trial against such a high-ranking clergyman, the court announced Monday in the southern city of Granada.

The priest sued Archbishop Francisco Javier Martinez for insulting him by accusing him of stealing the intellectual property rights to a book on Granada cathedral.

The archbishop denied having subjected the priest to harassment, saying he was sacked from his job because of a “loss of confidence” in him.

Prosecutors described the case as the only one of its kind in Spain.

[Copyright dpa 2007]

Subject: Spanish news