Spanish parish stages hunger strike to back priest

MADRID, Aug 13 (Reuters) Members of a Spanish village parish have gone on hunger strike in protest at the transfer of their much-loved priest to another church, the newspaper El Pais reported today.

Eighteen members of a parish in Albunol in the southern province of Granada have refused to eat in protest at the transfer of Gabriel Castillo, and 200 parishioners have locked themselves in the church in an attempt to keep him as their priest.

But Castillo's transfer has been brought forward, El Pais said on its Web site, as the protests continue.

The youthful Castillo is popular with parishioners because he has involved himself with local social issues such as immigration and poverty.

The protesters say Castillo is being transferred because his ideas clash with a group of local nuns, who since his arrival have been hearing mass in a nearby village.

Reuters SKB DB1857