Overview
- The complaint, sent this summer to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has been admitted and is now being instructed through the Tribunal of the Rota at the Nunciature in Spain.
- The Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta denies the accusation as very serious and false, saying Bishop Zornoza has paused his public agenda to clarify the facts and to undergo treatment for an aggressive cancer.
- El País reports that church authorities left Zornoza in office and in contact with minors for about four months after receiving the denunciation, with Vatican officials indicating precautionary measures are not automatic and are assessed case by case.
- Spanish church leaders express pain and emphasize the presumption of innocence, with CEE president Luis Argüello noting the process lends verisimilitude to the complaint while stating decisions rest with Vatican authorities.
- The complainant alleges repeated abuse beginning at age 14 and describes manipulation tied to spiritual direction and confession, in what outlets say is the first publicly known Vatican abuse probe of a sitting Spanish bishop.