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The Pope Leo XIV accepts the resignation of Bishop Cadiz following an official investigation launched into an allegation that historic child sexual abuse occurred.
In a one-line statement released on Saturday, the Vatican confirmed that Rafael Zornoza would no longer serve as the Bishop of Cadiz and Ceuta – the first known time that the new American pontiff has removed a bishop accused of abuse.
Zornoza has been accused of sexually abusing minors between the ages 14 and 21 years old in Getafe near Madrid in the late 90s, when he served as a priest in the Diocese Getafe. He was also the rector of a seminary.
Zornoza, now 76 years old, is the first Catholic bishop in Spain to be investigated for allegations of child sexual abuse.
A letter obtained by a Spanish newspaper El PaísThe alleged victim alleges that Zornoza had abused her for years. She would enter his room in the nighttime to kiss and touch him.
READ MORE: Bishop of Cadiz ‘steps back from duties’ as Vatican announces investigation into historic child abuse claims
He claims that the abuse began when he was just 14 years old and continued until he reached adulthood.
He came into the room at night and I was abused. “He got into bed with me, kissed me and caressed my body,” reads the letter.
“I also wake up in the mornings the same way.” At that time, I never said anything to him – paralysis controlled me.”
The alleged victim, ten years after leaving seminary, says that he sent Zornoza email accusing him of abuse.
The bishop did not respond.
A complaint was then formally launched earlier this summer – although safeguarding concerns have been raised after it emerged that the bishop was allowed to remain in his position until this month.
Contact with minors is part of the role.
READ MORE – Spanish Bishops acknowledge that there have been more than 900 child victims of abuse since 1945
The Diocese of Cadiz & Ceuta issued a statement in which it said that the accusations, made about events that occurred almost thirty years earlier, were very serious, and also false.
According to El Pais, The Cadiz Diocese is one of the least cooperative in Spain for providing information about clerical sexual abuse.
The newspaper claims that more than 1500 clergy members have been accused in Spain of sexual abuse.
A 2023 investigation by Spain’s ombudsman found that 0.6% of the country’s adult population had suffered sexual abuse from a clergy member as a child – amounting to more than 200,000 victims.
Zornoza, the Bishop of Cadiz & Ceuta appointed by Pope Benedict XVI after Antonio Ceballos Atienza’s resignation in 2011, was appointed as such by Pope Benedict XVI.
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