The newspaper El País published on this December 11 a report on the sexual abuses committed by an Opus Dei priest, Jacinto Lázaro Laguardia, claiming that the prelature, knowing the case, would have transferred him to another assignment for 25 years without reporting the facts to the civil authorities. The news includes the explicit testimony of a complainant, Pablo Merino, who claims to have suffered abuses between 1994 and 1996, when he was a minor, as well as references to another case in San Sebastián in the eighties and to a subsequent complaint from an adult woman.
After the publication, the prelature issued a statement in which it expressed its “deep regret” for the suffering caused and asked for forgiveness from the affected persons. Additionally, it offered several clarifications on the information that appeared in the press.
According to the statement, Opus Dei claims that the only accusation known to the prelature during that period was the one from 1998, related to the case that occurred in Pamplona. From that internal complaint—when the alleged victim was still a minor—the institution indicates that a procedure was followed in accordance with the canonical norms in force at that time. In January 1999, the priest would have been prohibited from carrying out ministerial activities with young people and his transfer to another city would have been arranged. The statement also maintains that the minor’s family requested to keep the case confidential and that the prelature acted in accordance with that request.
Regarding the San Sebastián case—mentioned by a former student of the Erain school and published by El País in May 2024—the prelature states that it only became aware of that accusation starting from that news. Subsequently, an investigation was initiated between June and November 2024, which concluded that the accusation was credible, but that the authorities of the time had not received information about the facts. The institution points out that, according to the statements gathered, at that time the priest did not leave his duties nor was he transferred because of this accusation, as there was no knowledge of it. The complainant, the statement adds, has preferred for now not to provide formal testimony for the opening of a canonical process.
The prelature also confirms that the priest is sanctioned for a case related to an adult woman. In this regard, it states that he has been prohibited from exercising the priestly ministry except in his residence.
Regarding the complaint filed by Pablo Merino with the Pamplona court on November 25 and mentioned by El País, the statement does not go into details about the content of that judicial complaint, but indicates that some published information has been “new” to the prelature and will be studied to determine how to proceed.
Opus Dei claims to have kept the competent dicasteries of the Holy See informed about the investigations and actions carried out. Additionally, it denies having engaged in cover-ups, in contrast to what is stated in the newspaper’s information.
Finally, the prelature recalls that it has a safeguarding office for minors accessible to anyone who wishes to report information about possible cases and protocols for prevention aimed at creating “safe environments”.