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Vatican Opens Canonical Probe Into Cádiz Bishop Over 1990s Abuse Allegations

The CádizCeuta diocese rejects the accusation, citing a temporary pause in Bishop Rafael Zornoza’s public duties for cancer treatment.

Overview

  • The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith accepted a complaint this summer and ordered a preliminary investigation.
  • The Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta issued a communiqué denying the allegations and said Zornoza has suspended his public agenda to receive treatment for an aggressive cancer.
  • The complainant alleges repeated sexual contact and manipulation from age 14 to 21 while Zornoza led the Getafe seminary, including claimed use of confessional authority and so‑called conversion therapy.
  • Diocesan officials said the case was introduced last week to the Tribunal of the Rota at the Apostolic Nunciature in Spain rather than being handled by the metropolitan archdiocese.
  • Reporting notes this is the first publicly known case in Spain of a bishop under Vatican investigation for alleged pederasty, with declarations now being taken in a process that could lead to a trial in Rome.