The Vatican is investigating the Bishop of Cádiz for sexual assault.

BarcelonaThe first alleged case of pedophilia within the upper echelons of the Spanish Church has emerged. The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is investigating the Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta, Rafael Zornoza, accused of sexually assaulting a minor between 1994 and the early 2000s in Getafe. The news was first reported by the newspaper. The Country And the Diocese of Cádiz has issued a statement denying the allegations: "The accusations made, referring to events that occurred almost 30 years ago, are very serious and also false."

The events allegedly took place when Zornoza, now 76, was a priest in Getafe and directed the diocesan seminary. According to the victim's testimony, who sent the complaint by mail to the Vatican this summer, the abuse occurred continuously for almost seven years, from when she was 14 until she was 21. "The nights he came to my room, I suffered the abuse. He would get on my bed, caress me, and kiss me. At times I didn't say anything; I was paralyzed," the man recounts in the letter to which this publication has had access. The CountryThe young man became a seminarian and confessed his homosexuality to Zornoza, prompting the priest to take him to therapy to "cure" him. When he finally mustered the courage to tell him that what he was doing was wrong—according to the victim's account—Zornoza argued that the relationship that had developed between them was the result of an "intimate friendship." Public activity canceled

The complainant did not realize he had been abused until several years later, after he had already left the seminary. At age 32, he emailed his abuser but received no reply. A few months ago, he went to see him, and according to his testimony, Zornoza admitted to the abuse and manipulation. The statute of limitations has expired for the legal proceedings, while the canonical investigation will be conducted by the superior of the Bishop of Cádiz, in this case, the Archbishop of Seville. For the time being, the accused has suspended all public activity, and the diocese expressed its "full confidence" in the justice system, while also requesting "respect for the presumption of innocence" of all individuals.