The Tribunal of the Rota of the Apostolic Nunciature in Spain has sentenced priest Gonzalo Ruipérez to dismissal from the clerical state and has imposed a prohibition on residing in Madrid, as Religión Confidencial reported this Wednesday. The ruling, issued after approximately a year and a half of proceedings, has been appealed by the priest before the Roman Rota and is therefore not yet final.
The resolution marks a decisive step in a case that InfoVaticana revealed in December 2024, when it reported that the then parish priest of San Juan de Dios, in the UVA de Vallecas, had been removed from his duties while the Rota investigated complaints related to conduct contrary to priestly celibacy and alleged irregularities in the parish’s financial management. The investigation that was then underway has now concluded, at first instance, with the priest’s conviction.
Dismissal from the clerical state
According to the information published by Religión Confidencial, the decision has already been communicated to Ruipérez, the complainant, the Archdiocese of Madrid and the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares. The priest is incardinated in the latter, although he carried out his pastoral ministry in Madrid for years.
The tribunal has decreed his dismissal from the clerical state and the prohibition on residing in Madrid. Ruipérez, however, has appealed the sentence before the Roman Rota, presided over by Spanish archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo.
It will now be the apostolic tribunal that must resolve the appeal. Until Rome issues a ruling, the execution of the sentence remains suspended. Both the Archdiocese of Madrid and the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares have confirmed to Religión Confidencial that they are aware of the appeal.
A case first reported in 2024
The investigation was revealed by InfoVaticana on 10 December 2024. At that time, to protect his identity while the procedure was ongoing, the outlet referred to the priest by his initials, G. R.
The report stated that Madrid had removed him from his duties after the Tribunal of the Rota opened an investigation. Sources familiar with the proceedings indicated at the time that the accusations had two aspects: conduct contrary to the celibate lifestyle of the priesthood and suspicions of irregularities in the parish’s financial management.
The information now published by Religión Confidencial coincides on those two points with what was reported almost two years ago. According to the outlet, the instruction has been especially lengthy due to the high number of people who have given testimony during the process.
Ruipérez had been parish priest of San Juan de Dios from September 2014 until he was removed in 2024. Although he was canonically dependent on Alcalá de Henares, the reported incidents are said to have occurred while he was exercising his ministry in Madrid, which is why the Madrid archdiocese initially assumed the handling and processing of the complaint.
From Madrid to Rome
According to Religión Confidencial, the then auxiliary bishop of Madrid and current bishop of Segovia, Monsignor Jesús Vidal, was the one who initially attended to the complainant. After his departure from Madrid, the late auxiliary bishop José Antonio Álvarez took over the liaison.
Ruipérez was for years a well-known priest in Vallecas for his intense social activity. During the pandemic, the parish distributed tens of thousands of kilos of food and assisted hundreds of families. In 2017 he received the Alter Christus Award for Social Pastoral Care.
Before his time in Madrid, he had served as personal secretary to Monsignor Manuel Ureña during various stages of his episcopal ministry.
The procedure now enters a new phase. The canonical conviction exists, but it is not final: having exercised his right of appeal, it will be for the Roman Rota to decide whether to uphold or modify the sentence handed down in Spain. Until then, the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state will not be carried out.