The Vatican removes the bishop of Cádiz who is being investigated for a pedophilia case in the 1990s.

BarcelonaPope Leo XIV has finally accepted 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 ChurchIn its bulletin this Saturday, the Vatican announced that it has accepted the resignation of Bishop Zornoza, which he submitted 15 months ago automatically upon reaching the age of 75 (the retirement age for clergy with a certain level of authority in the Catholic Church). Although the acceptance of Zornoza's resignation comes just 11 days after it was revealed that the Vatican was investigating the bishop for an alleged case of pedophilia, the Holy See did not specify the reasons for accepting the cleric's withdrawal. Meanwhile, the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) issued a statement announcing that Pope Leo XIV appointed the auxiliary bishop of Seville, Ramón Darío Valdivia, as "apostolic administrator" of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta this same Saturday. In the statement, the Conference made no reference to the investigation against Zornoza, but on Monday the president of the CEE, Luis Argüello, He met for the first time with Pope Leo XIV And he did confirm that the Pope was "informed" about the case of the now former Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta.

Accused of abusing a 14-year-old girl

The Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta is under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor between 1994 and the early 2000s 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 years old—was the director of the seminary in the Diocese of Getafe. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Zornoza as auxiliary bishop of Getafe. Years later, in 2011, he was appointed Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta.