The Vatican has covered up thousands of cases of pedophilia in various parts of the world for nearly a century, according to an investigation by the German media outlet. Corrective, in collaboration with The Country and together with the international media The Boston Globefrom the United States, theObserverfrom Portugal andMacondo HouseFrom Colombia, in which they claim that "the Vatican has what is probably the largest archive of unpunished pedophiles in the world."

This week Pope Leo XIV has decided to award the medalPro Ecclesia et Pontifice Xavier Pomés (Barcelona, ​​1948), former Minister of Governance and the Interior in various governments of Jordi Pujol (1999-2002), has been honored for rescuing the finances of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Almería, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. He arrived there in 2022 on a complex mission that has proven entirely fruitful. The success of the president of the board of trustees of the Pere Tarrés Foundation has earned him the highest distinction awarded by the Holy Father, at the request of the Bishop of Almería, Antonio Gómez Cantero. The Vicar General of Almería, Ignacio López, explains in a conversation with ARA how Pomés pulled them out of the abyss in his role as diocesan treasurer: "He has done a spectacular job in a completely selfless way; he has given us a huge boost," he maintains. And he adds that "he didn't charge a penny": "Just look at the level of generosity." In numerical terms, Pomés's time in Almería has been a blessing; he explains that they had a debt of 25 million euros and that now it's only 5 million – the annual budget was five million and is currently six million. The situation had spiraled out of control and they were drowning: "We were approaching 900,000 euros a year in interest payments alone. We were selling assets and couldn't keep up," he concludes. The main loan was with Banco Santander for 11 million euros. Pomés's plan was accompanied by a godsend: an anonymous donation of ten million euros from a businessman, which contributed to reducing the debt, which is now twenty million euros less.

The actress and comedian Sílvia Abril has become a target of the far-right after making statements in which she criticized the Catholic Church. During her appearance on the red carpet at the Goya Awards, held this Saturday in Barcelona, Abril was interviewed by the magazine Cinemanía, which asked her about her favorite film of this edition of the awards. The actress opted for Sorda, but also spoke aboutLos domingos, the drama about a teenager who wants to become a cloistered nun. "I feel sorry that young people need to believe in something and cling to the Christian faith. I'm sorry for the Church, but what a kiosk you have set up. It's over, get out," said Abril, who argued that she preferred Sorda because she found it more "necessary" than Alauda Ruiz de Azúa's film.

"It has been a complex, arduous, tough, and long negotiation, but we have reached the point we wanted, and we are more than satisfied." This is how the Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, described the negotiations with the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) and the Spanish Conference of Religious to reach an agreement for the "reparation and recognition" of victims of abuse within the Church. "Today, an indisputable step has been taken that brings justice," the minister emphasized during the presentation of the agreement's details this Thursday morning. Bolaños explained that the pact "meets all the requirements set forth by the Ombudsman" and establishes a joint system, between the State and the Church, to define how these compensations should be provided. Thus, a commission will be created to which victims can submit their requests for reparations, and these requests will be forwarded to a victims' unit, led by the Ombudsman, who will decide what reparations are appropriate in each case. "It can be economic, moral, psychological, or restorative reparation, or even all four at once," the minister explained. Once the compensation is defined, developed on a case-by-case basis, the proposal will be presented to both the victim and the Catholic Church, who will have to decide whether to accept it or not. If the parties agree, the proposal will be binding. Bolaños also emphasized that "of course" all reparations will be "paid for by the Catholic Church": "The State will not pay a single cent," he stressed. A prominent role for the Ombudsman

Conversely, if the Ombudsman's proposal does not satisfy either party, a new joint commission will be formed, which will also include victims' associations. This commission will work together to reach a consensus agreement that all parties consider fair. "If there is still no agreement in this second instance, then the Ombudsman's decision will prevail," the minister explained. "Thus, it is clear that the compensation will be decided by the State [the Ombudsman] and the Church will be the one to pay," he emphasized. Furthermore, the financial compensation will be tax-exempt, both for amounts agreed upon from now on and for those already received.

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The small Romanesque church of Santa Bárbara de Pruneres, in the Alta Garrotxa region, became a space dedicated to science and history. During a well-attended gathering held on a Sunday in mid-October, a piece of whale rib, approximately two meters long, was the object of veneration and analysis by a team of archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), while more than a hundred worshippers witnessed the scene. The immense bone was taken down from the side chapel where it has been displayed since 2004 and placed in the center of the altar, from where the UAB scientists ceremoniously extracted samples for analysis.

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The Vatican may accept the resignation of the Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta, Rafael Zornoza, after he was implicated in the First case of alleged pedophilia within the hierarchy of the Spanish ChurchOn Monday, the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), Luis Argüello, met for the first time with Pope Leo XIV and, after the meeting, confirmed that the Pope is "informed" about the case. The president of the Episcopal Conference also explained that the Vatican could accept the resignation that Zornoza submitted fifteen months ago, upon reaching the age of 75, the retirement age for clergy with a certain level of authority in the Catholic Church. "It is a matter for the Holy See, and we have been told—not by the Holy Father directly—that the resignation could be accepted soon, but we don't know when or how it will be formalized," Argüello clarified. The Archbishop of Valladolid also emphasized that "it is the Holy Father's signature that can accept or reject a resignation and that appoints successors"; therefore, he said, Leo XIV must be fully informed. When asked about the slowness of these types of processes within the Vatican, Argüello defended the practice, stating that "processes in general are almost always slow because they prioritize due process." The Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta is being investigated by the Holy See following a complaint accusing him of sexually assaulting a minor between 1994 and the early 2000s, when he was serving in Getafe. According to the victim, who sent the complaint by mail to the Vatican this summer, the abuse allegedly lasted for nearly seven years, from the age of 14 to 21. At that time, Zornoza—now 76—was the director of the seminary in the Diocese of Getafe.

The leadership of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) arrived at the Vatican ahead of the 128th Plenary Assembly, the first to be held since Leo XIV became Pope. During the official visit, the Spanish bishops also met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, with whom they discussed the need to strengthen the trust of victims and talked about the development of the ideas competition on the future of the Valley of the FallenParolin had already discussed these issues recently with the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños. Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV reinforced his message of firmness in preventing abuse on Monday. In a statement, the pontiff emphasized that "building communities where the dignity of every person, especially minors and the most vulnerable, is protected and promoted" is a desire very close to his heart. This stance comes after several meetings with abuse victims. On November 8, Leo XIV met for almost three hours with a group of Belgian victims, and on October 20 he received representatives of the Global Board of Victims of Abuse (ECA), which brings together survivors from more than thirty countries who have suffered abuse at the hands of the clergy.

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Evangelical or Protestant churches in Catalonia have more than doubled in the last two decades. While there were 341 in 2004, last year ended with 889 places of worship, according to the count by the Directorate General of Religious Affairs of the Department of Justice. Despite the rapid increase in spaces dedicated to this faith, the Barometer on Religiosity and the Management of its Diversity does not show a similarly significant increase in the population that identifies with this faith, which also has many branches, denominations, and internal currents. The latest data in Catalonia, from 2023, indicates that 3.6% of the population belongs to this faith. Sources consulted by ARA, including both experts and people involved in the evangelical movement, see different reasons behind this increase. The General Directorate of Religious Affairs attributes this to immigration from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and some Eastern European countries, but also points out that "part of the Catalan population may have been attracted to the more experiential and straightforward forms of evangelical worship." They cite the Roma population as an example.

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Last March, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) decided to acquit former footballer Dani Alves of a crime of sexual assault. A few months earlier, the Barcelona Court had sentenced him to four and a half years in prison concluding that he raped a young woman in the restroom of the Sutton nightclub on December 30, 2022. However, the higher court overturned this sentence, which is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, the final stage of the judicial process, after the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution appealed against it. At the moment, they are still studying the appeal.

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The silence of the Valencian Church on the management of the Valencian government during the DANA and about the constant attacks against Catalan It's deafening. Almost a year has passed since the cold drop in the Valencian Country, with management questioned and judicially investigated, but the silence has become a reprehensible complicity, according to some grassroots Christian groups consulted by ARA. The Valencian Church has also not promoted Valencian in masses and, in particular, in the liturgy, despite the promise of the Archbishop of Valencia, Enric Benavent. It remains residual and there are hardly any changes in the use of the language compared to the regime of Francisco Franco. In fact, Benavent spoke out this Thursday about the cold drop, calling for "fighting so that the common good is more important than our ideas" and on other occasions he had called for "unity" and not "instrumentalizing" suffering and misfortune, but without going into management.

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Opus Dei's number two, auxiliary vicar Mariano Fazio, was formally accused of trafficking women for thelabor exploitation within their religious order in conditions of semi-slavery, a practice that Opus Dei allegedly committed for four decades in Argentina. This is stated in the eight-page document to which access has been obtained. ElDiario.es, within the judicial process opened against the highest leaders of Opus Dei in Argentina. Opus Dei –that is, the number two in the order worldwide– and lives in the Vatican, asks to be charged along with four leaders of the order in the country who had already been accused. The request was sent on June 11 to federal judge Daniel Rafecas by prosecutors Alejandra Mángano_ initially included in the indictment, which did charge the three priests who had held the same position as him in previous and subsequent years: the former regional vicars of Argentina Carlos Nannei (1991-2000), Patricio Olmos (2000-2010) and Víctor Urrestarazu (2014) female member of Opus Dei in Argentina, Gabriel Dondo. Fazio had also been a regional vicar between 2010 and 2014.

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The Catholic Church dominates the scene like no one else. It's fascinating how it has appropriated pagan festivals, linked to the natural cycle of life. In the case of the solstices, moments of maximum solar decline, with varying success. While the winter solstice—commemorated in the Roman Saturnalia with great feasts and gifts—has been displaced by the Christian Christmas, the summer solstice is one of the few soirees that has resisted it. Since ancient Persia, fire has been given ritual value and the earth is honored in gratitude for prosperity.

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This June, the Archdiocese of Barcelona began paying the first compensation payments to victims of sexual abuse in the Church. Last year, following the cases reported over the past few years and the reports on abuse in the Church made by the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) and the Ombudsman, the comprehensive reparation plan for minor victims of sexual abuse, known as PRIVA, was implemented. Since its creation, the CEE's Comprehensive Reparation Advisory Commission has reviewed each case of individuals who reported having suffered abuse within the Catholic Church in Spain and are seeking compensation.

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Can Gibert del Pla is a humble neighborhood in Girona with residents from 79 different cultures that is evolving positively against the current: it has plenty of subsidized housing, green spaces, public facilities, a dynamic neighborhood association, and a church that fills to overflowing thanks to the granite-like faith of the Latin American community. Now, it will also be close to and shared with Salt by the Health Campus, which includes the new Josep Trueta Hospital and the Faculties of Medicine and Nursing. The residents of this neighborhood, tucked between the River Güell and Passeig de Olot, believe that this new space for health, teaching, and research will give the area a new centrality, although they don't want the facility's urban counterpart to engulf Jordi Vilamitjana Park, a large green lung that connects them to Salt.

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The Ministry of Social Rights has reported to the Prosecutor's Office the remarks of the Bishop Emeritus of Alcalá de Henares, Antonio Reig Pla, who stated in a homily that disability is "an inheritance of sin and the disorder of nature." The Spanish government indicates that he may have committed a crime by promoting or inciting discrimination, thus contradicting the law on equal treatment.

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He met Pope Leo XIV six years ago, in 2019. You could say they were friends. And he was even one of the people who confirmed the role the new pontiff had played in relation to a case of sexual abuse in Peru, after several voices suggested that Robert Prevost had covered up abuse allegations. "It's false; he's one of the few bishops in Peru who stood by the victims. I checked it out, and it was clearly defamation," Tortosa prelate Jordi Bertomeu explained to ARA. He is one of those responsible for investigating cases of sexual abuse in the Church. And so it was in 2023, when Pope Francis sent Bertomeu and the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, both members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, to investigate the Peruvian-based apostolic group Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, founded by the layman Luis Fernando Figari, who was accused of being one of them. In 2025, the Sodalicio was dissolved.

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Without a strong Church—pyramidal, wealthy, rigid, and powerful—would Jesus' message have survived 2,000 years? No It allows us to excuse the excesses committed throughout history by the popes of Rome. We don't know what the affirmative answer would have yielded. The history of the Church, and more specifically of the papacy, is nothing less than an unbalanced balance between the winning option of Vatican continuity and the alternative of commitment to the poor. These days, amid the fabulous theatrical pomp of Francis's funeral, the late pontiff's desire for Franciscan simplicity has been constantly highlighted. The contradiction between what we saw and what was called exemplifies this unresolved secular tension. A tension also between tradition and modernity in organizational and moral terms: the Church is not democratic and remains sexist.

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In form, the conclave seems remote and ceremonious, spiritual, almost magical. However, its dynamics are the same as those in the business world when a founder, or a great charismatic CEO, leaves his position. I would say that the Church faces at least four major challenges in this transition.

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One option when making a will is to give the estate, or a portion of it, to charitable organizations. However, in practice, very few people who leave an inheritance choose this option. Last year, 61,854 inheritances were registered in Catalonia, and only 0.32% included a charitable donation, although these totaled €56.73 million. Of these, 55% went to NGOs and 45% to the Church, according to data from the Notarial Association of Catalonia.

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Amid the enormous uproar generated by the death of Pope Francis, Pedro Sánchez has done something his own way. Amidst the wave of recognition for a holy father that seemed to be going against the grain, the Prime Minister has withdrawn from the burial ceremonies. The Spanish delegation will be led by King Felipe VI as head of state, who, free of executive responsibilities, performs much of his work in institutional representative functions, based on the presumed ideological neutrality of his office.

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The Piarist Enric Canet, soul of Casal dels Infants, values the legacy of Francis, a Pope about whom there were many expectations that he would manage to open the Catholic Church to social realities.

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