The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has opened a canonical investigation against Msgr. Rafael Zornoza Boy, bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta, for alleged sexual abuses committed more than three decades ago, when he was a priest and trainer at the Getafe seminary in Madrid. The complaint was filed directly with the Vatican by a man who claims to have been a victim of Zornoza between the ages of 14 and 21.
According to El País, in the testimony sent to Rome, the abuses would have occurred in the 1990s and lasted for several years. “At night he would get into my bed and touch me; he would caress and kiss me,” the letter states. Although the case is statute-barred under Spanish civil law, canon law allows for an internal ecclesiastical investigation to determine if there are indications that justify a formal process.
If the veracity of the accusations is confirmed, this would be the first process for pedophilia against an active bishop in Spain, a fact that would set a precedent in the application of Vatican norms on the responsibility of prelates in our country.
A case that tests the Spanish Church
The opening of this investigation represents a turning point in the treatment of abuses within the Church in Spain. Until now, the ecclesiastical processes opened in the country had affected priests or religious, but never a bishop.
Msgr. Zornoza, 76 years old, was ordained a priest in 1975 in Madrid and appointed bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta in 2011 by Benedict XVI. He has held positions in the Episcopal Commission for Missions and Cooperation between Churches and in the Commission for the Clergy of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE).
The diocese of Cádiz, under scrutiny
The Gaditan diocese has long carried an image of low transparency in the management of abuse complaints. According to an internal CEE report from 2023, the diocese received four formal complaints and one additional case documented by the Ombudsman, with a total of seven accused priests and nineteen victims.
Some of those cases, according to the audit, were not reported to civil justice, claiming that the victims did not wish to file a complaint. The accused were expelled from the clerical state, and the diocese covered psychological treatment for the victims, although without assuming institutional responsibility.
Complaints of cover-up and lack of response
Bishop Zornoza had already been pointed out in 2010 for allegedly silencing complaints against two priests involved in abuses against minors. El País assures that, according to its investigations, more than sixty Spanish prelates have been accused in recent years of having covered up or managed similar cases inadequately.
Although Pope Francis toughened canonical sanctions in 2019 against those who cover up abuses, the practical application of these norms in Spain has been slow. The Episcopal Conference has reiterated its “commitment to zero tolerance,” but in practice it has not publicly acknowledged open investigations against bishops.
Statement from the diocese of Getafe
Following the publication of the news, the diocese of Getafe—where the events allegedly occurred—issued a brief statement affirming that it has not received any formal accusation and that it places itself “at the disposal of the competent courts for any collaboration that may be required.”
The text adds its “condemnation of all kinds of abuse” and its “commitment to prevention,” without explicitly mentioning Bishop Zornoza.