More than two hundred people gathered this Sunday in front of the San Juan Bautista parish, in El Álamo (Madrid), in support of priest Aroldo Herrera and the bishop of Getafe, after InfoVaticana published that the parish priest maintained a social media account where he appeared in underwear and with messages inappropriate for his priestly condition.
The rally was called through social media under the motto “Enough of public mockery. Against hate, yes to respect”, with a poster encouraging people to meet on Sunday at 9:30 in front of the temple “in favor and in defense of our parish priest, Don Aroldo”.
Parallelly, in several shops in the municipality, support signature sheets for the priest have been placed, in which a “personal smear campaign” is denounced and his “pastoral work during the last three years” is highlighted, during which —according to the text— “the parish has been opened to all Alameña society” and “necessary works that had been postponed for a long time” have been carried out.
“El Álamo supports its bishop and its parish priest”
During the rally, the attendees unfurled a large banner with the message:
El Álamo supports its bishop and its parish priest due to the unfair campaign being waged against them.
The demonstration, held in front of the parish facade, brought together faithful of different ages and had the presence of several parish collaborators.
Context of the case
InfoVaticana reported on October 19 that the parish priest maintained a public profile on Instagram under the name @morenazo0378, where he published phrases and personal photographs that caused scandal among the parishioners. The priest acknowledged being the owner of the account, although he maintained that his images were used without permission in homosexual dating applications.
After the publication of the news and the repeated requests for clarification from this medium, the Diocese of Getafe confirmed on Monday, October 20, that the parish priest has been temporarily removed from his position, while what happened is being investigated.
The case has sparked an intense debate about the moral coherence demanded of priests and the pastoral response of bishops to public behaviors that may cause scandal among the faithful.