The Vatican could accept the resignation of the Bishop of Cádiz due to alleged pedophilia in the 1990s.

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.

On behalf of the Spanish Catholic Church, Argüello insisted that a reparations system for victims of abuse, where the statute of limitations has expired or the accused have died, has been in place for over a year. However, many victims criticize its slowness, lack of transparency, and limited scope.