The Bishop of Cádiz in southern Spain, under investigation by the Vatican over alleged paedophilia, has resigned, and Pope Leo XIV has appointed his successor, the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) announced.
“Pope Leo XIV appointed Ramon Dario Valdivia Gimenez, the current Auxiliary Bishop of Seville, as the new Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta this Saturday, accepting the resignation submitted by Bishop Rafael Zornoza,” the CEE said in a statement.
Zornoza, 76, had been under internal investigation by the Catholic Church for alleged paedophilia, according to a statement released by his diocese last week, confirming reports in newspaper El País that the Vatican had opened an investigation.
According to El País, Zornoza is suspected of having repeatedly sexually abused a minor in the 1990s, when he was a priest and head of the seminary in Getafe, near Madrid.
The case, now beyond the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution, was referred to the Holy See at the beginning of the year when the victim filed a complaint with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department responsible for such cases.
The Dicastery deemed the allegations credible and ordered an investigation, according to El Pais.
Although the Cádiz diocese confirmed the investigation it rejected the accusations as “false.”
The CEE’s Secretary General Francisco Garcia Magan had Friday called for “respect for the presumption of innocence” of Zornoza, adding the Vatican was dealing with the matter.
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The Spanish Catholic Church, frequently criticised for a lack of transparency over child sexual abuse, only agreed in 2022 to investigate internal paedophilia.
This year it established a system to receive complaints and compensate victims and indicated on Friday that 58 of 101 received complaints had been resolved, without specifying if that meant compensation had been paid out to victims.
