EL PAÍS launched an investigation into pedophilia in the Spanish Church in 2018 and did a database updated with all known cases. If you know of any cases that have not seen the light of day, you can write to us at: Abusos@elpais.es. If it is Latin America, the address is: abusesamerica@elpais.es.
───────────
The Vatican and the Spanish Church kept the bishop of Cadiz and Ceuta, Rafael Zornoza, canonically investigated for child abuse in the 1990s when he was a priest and directed the Getafe seminary in Madrid, in office and in contact with minors for four months. The case, already prescribed in criminal courts, reached the Holy See at the beginning of this summer, when the victim sent a complaint via email to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which gave credibility to the facts and ordered the opening of an investigation. At that time, according to the canonists consulted and given the seriousness of the case, precautionary measures, such as removal from office, could already have been taken in the case of a bishop. This could also be done later, when the investigations begin to take place in Spain. But this was not the case, and the crisis that erupted with this case represents for Leo XIV a first test to know his attitude towards the pedophilia scandal in the Spanish Church, which Francis never wanted to face.
Indeed, one of the main recommendations of the Pontifical Commission for Minors of the Holy See in its latest report, presented last month, was to accelerate the dismissal of priests involved in cases of abuse. The entity highlighted “the importance of a simplified protocol for the resignation or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or neglect.”
After learning of the case this Monday, following an investigation by EL PAÍS, Zornoza denied the accusations and suspended his agenda “to clarify the facts” and to deal with a cancer from which he announced – for the first time – that he suffers. But nothing prevents him from having contact with minors and not even the Spanish Episcopal Conference (EEC) has removed him from his roles in the institution.
In the bishop’s blog, where he comments on the Gospel, coincidentally this Monday’s reading was the passage from Luke in which Jesus tells his disciples that whoever scandalizes the little ones “it would be better for him if they put a millstone around his neck and were thrown into the sea”. Zornoza’s comment was: “An appeal to courage and responsibility towards others, especially towards the weakest, and towards those who make mistakes. (…) There are many men and women who end up subjugated, neglected, demolished, in a wounded and selfish society… And what do we owe to those who make mistakes? Forgiveness, which does not imply lies, but love in the truth”.
The Catholic Church had an easy solution for Zornoza to leave office. He is 76 years old and when he turned 75 he had already submitted his resignation to the Pope, as established by canonical norms. Normally the pontiff usually grants an extension of a few years, but in this case, after learning of the complaint, it could have been agreed to act quickly against the accusations. Precisely because, as article 1722 of the Canon Code indicates, precautionary measures serve “to avoid scandals, defend the freedom of witnesses and guarantee the course of justice”.
However, neither the Doctrine of the Faith nor the Dicastery of Bishops, to whom a complaint of this type must automatically be communicated, have ordered its removal. Also in this case, as in the case of Francis, the Vatican machine and the dioceses of each country operate on their own, not always in harmony with the Pope. Not even the archbishopric of Seville, appointed by the Vatican to conduct the investigation last July, is the metropolitan headquarters on which the diocese of Cadiz depends. In Seville, sources from the archdiocese confirm, “it was decided to refer the case to the Tribunal de la Rota”. Sending a dossier to this body, which depends on the Nunciature – the embassy of the Holy See in Spain – is an option that dioceses have if they prefer not to deal with a complex complaint. This institution, which is conducting the preliminary investigation, also did not remove Zornoza from his post.
The Vatican Press Office, when asked about it, explains that no precautionary measures have been adopted pending the evaluation of the preliminary investigation launched, and it will be decided later whether they will be applied. “It’s not always done, it’s not automatic, it’s evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” explains a spokesperson.
In the Spanish Episcopal Conference (EEC), Zornoza is a member of the Episcopal Commission for Missions and Cooperation with the Churches. The EEC confirmed to EL PAÍS that the bishop of Cadiz and Ceuta continues to hold that position in the commission and that he does not have the authority to remove him, but rather the Tribunal de la Rota must request it. The president of the bishops, Luis Argüello, underlined this Monday that the conference does not have legal-canonical authority over the bishops, but that it is the Holy See that has it: “It does not correspond to us”.
Zornoza’s situation in the EEC contrasts with a very recent precedent: in another case known last week, the accused priest was dismissed after two months, but four months have passed with the bishop of Cadiz and he remains in his post. The EEC dismissed the director of the penitentiary ministry, Jesuit José Antonio García Quintana, after his congregation received a complaint of pedophilia against him last July. “In this case it was the company that urged the adoption of this measure,” says a spokesperson for the EEC.
In this case, the Jesuits became aware of the accusation in July and, after having carried out “the first internal checks” and collected credible testimonies, in September they removed the priest, communicated the case to the Prosecutor’s Office and informed the EEC, which relieved him of his duties.
The seriousness of the accusations in the confession
The experts consulted highlight another aspect of the complaint, in addition to the accusations of abuse, which is also canonically serious: the use of the sacrament of confession. In the complaint, the victim claims to have confessed to Zornoza and that it was another moment of “manipulation and control”. The complainant underlines that in the confession he had a great sense of guilt “and made me see that I was not capable of loving or understanding a friendship”. “After confessing my homosexual acts, I went to bed and a few minutes later he came into my bed and caressed me,” he says.
In this sense, article 1385 of the Canon Code states: «The priest who, during confession, or on the occasion or pretext of the same, asks the penitent to commit a sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue, must be punished, according to the gravity of the crime, with suspensions, prohibitions or deprivations; and, in the most serious cases, he must be expelled from the clerical state.” It is also discussed in article 4.4 of the Norms on the most serious crimes reserved for the doctrine of faith, where it is specified that they include “the solicitation of a sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue during confession or on the occasion or pretext of it (…), if such solicitation is aimed at sinning with the same confessor”.
In the last four months, since the Vatican ordered the opening of the investigation, Zornoza has continued to have contact with minors. The latest took place this Friday, in a Salesian sanctuary in Cadiz, where the prelate confirmed 18 young people. This is how it appears in photographs on social networks such as Instagram, in which the bishop is surrounded by minors or imposes the sacrament on their foreheads. On his profile X (formerly Twitter), the accused also posted images of some meetings and religious celebrations with young people.
