Rafael Zornoza is on his way out. In fact, the mandate of the still bishop of Cadiz and Ceuta has been extended for a year and a half after he turned 75 years old on July 31, 2024 and submitted his obligatory resignation to the Holy See. His resignation was not accepted at the time, which dissatisfied a large section of the Spanish Church, especially after it became known that the Vatican had ordered a canonical investigation before deciding whether to open proceedings against the bishop, following a complaint that he had abused a victim over events that had occurred three decades earlier, while Zornoza was serving as rector of the Getafe seminary.
Several bishops point out to elDiario.es that “the charges are not directed against a titular bishop as much as they are directed against a practicing bishop.” Canon experts claim they “do not explain” why precautionary measures were not taken against Zornoza four months after the complaint reached the Department of the Doctrine of the Faith. It seems that may change in the coming weeks. As this newspaper has learned, the replacement of the bishops of Cadiz and Ceuta could happen soon. Even before the arrival of the new apostolic nuncio to Spain, Piero Biopo, scheduled before Christmas. In ecclesiastical lies there is talk of the Bishop of Guadix, Francisco Jesús Orozco, as a replacement for the condemned bishop.
Whatever the case, experts feel that any action taken once the scandal is known is “already too late.” As soon as Rome received the complaint (the victim did not trust either the reporting bodies run by the dioceses or the Episcopal Conference itself), a procedure was activated that was supposed to prompt the Archbishop of Seville – the Diocese of Cádiz is the voter of the Diocese of Seville – to open an investigation. However, José Ángel Saez Meneses stepped down and then referred the case to the Rota court. Spain is the only country with a court of this type, which relies on the nuncio. It is this court that will, from now on, have to take the statements of those affected and decide whether there is a basis for opening a legal process against the bishop, the first Spanish bishop officially accused of sexual abuse of minors. It is also ROTA that must impose precautionary measures once the case is announced.
For the time being, silence prevails in the Vatican and in the Diocese of Cadiz, which has limited itself to describing the accusations as “extremely serious and false,” and reporting that Zornoza is “temporarily suspending his agenda to clarify the facts and take care of treatment for the aggressive cancer from which he suffers.” A disease that no one knew anything about until the moment El Pais newspaper published the complaint of abuse.
What does the Episcopal Conference say? Officially silence and “respect” for the procedures. On Monday afternoon, the head of the European Economic Commission, Luis Argüello, considered the complaint against Zornoza “plausible,” although he asked that the presumption of innocence of the accused be respected. The Archbishop of Valladolid stressed that “the fact that the Holy See has begun an investigation gives credibility to this accusation,” and called for “the pain of a potential victim and the pain of a bishop who could have been falsely accused.” Argüello indicated the possibility that Rome would accept his resignation soon: “The possibilities are great, but it does not depend on me or on the conference.”
For his part, the Vice President of the Episcopate, Jose Cobo, indicated on Tuesday his “confidence” that the Rota Court “will be resolved as quickly as the investigation requires.” Cobo stressed that the fact that the Vatican decided to investigate Zornoza over an alleged crime of sexual abuse against a minor when he was a priest in Getafe in the 1990s is because “there must be the possibility of verification,” and that he is convinced that the investigation will be “very comprehensive and very effective.”
What crimes could Zornoza face? In addition to the alleged sexual abuse, the complaint also speaks of abuse of the sacrament of confession, as well as a clear example of “spiritual abuse” which the Pope, as ElDiario.es declared, wants to be punished as a crime in the Code of Canon Law. Punishments that may lead to loss of priestly status and, in extreme cases, excommunication.
A new system to compensate victims
In the midst of this new scandal, the Minister of the Presidency, Felix Bolaños, on Tuesday obligated the associations of victims of child sexual abuse by clergy to establish a mixed system between church and state, with the participation of the victims and compensation borne by the church, during a meeting he held with 22 representatives of the associations of victims of abuse.
The meeting, which both parties described as “fruitful and trustworthy,” comes after the government and the church began a negotiation process in order to find answers to a comprehensive compensation system. During the meeting, a proposal was explained to the victims that is consistent with the recommendations of the Ombudsman, who will have a decisive role in the procedure and have the final say. This means: a mixed system between church and state, where the church is the one who pays reparations, in which the victims participate, with their voice and vote, and where the state is the guarantor of compliance.
Throughout the meeting, Minister Bolaños reiterated the government’s commitment to survivors of child sexual abuse “to continue the dialogue with the Catholic Church” in order to “reach agreements that meet their historical demands”, as well as to inform them of all the progress being made. For their part, the victims (22 people) demanded that the minister require an official and final response to the survivors. Some of them declared, “The government is still committed. The Privat plan is still a failure.” They stressed: “We, the victims, cannot bear it anymore.”
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