Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Cádiz and Ceuta Bishop Rafael Zornoza on Saturday amid a scandal over abuse allegations from the 1990s. The move comes 12 days after EL PAÍS revealed the Vatican's canonical investigation, opened four months ago. Zornoza, who denies the claims, will focus on medical treatments for cancer and his defense.
On Saturday, November 22, 2025, the Holy See's Press Room announced that Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Rafael Zornoza, Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta since 2012, submitted automatically upon turning 75 in 2024. This action follows EL PAÍS's November 10 revelation of a canonical investigation launched by the Vatican in July over sexual abuse allegations against a minor when Zornoza was a priest in Getafe in the 1990s.
The victim, who reported to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, described abuses starting in 1994 at age 14 until 21. “It was at night when he came to the room and I suffered the abuses. He got into my bed, caressed and kissed me,” he wrote in his letter, accessed by EL PAÍS. The incidents, time-barred in civil courts, involved touching and kissing at camps and the seminary, where Zornoza subjected him to conversion therapy after he confessed his homosexuality. The now-emeritus bishop posted a statement on the diocesan website thanking the Pope for “his understanding and paternal closeness” and calling the accusation “unjust and false”.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference appointed Ramón Darío Valdivia Giménez, auxiliary bishop of Seville, as apostolic administrator, who stated: “I hope to serve as help while I am among you”. This marks the first time in Spain a bishop faces canonical investigation for pedophilia, handled by the Rota Tribunal in Madrid. The Pope explained on Tuesday that “we must allow the investigation to continue,” but the delay contrasts with the Pontifical Commission for Minors' recommendations to expedite removals.
The case stems from EL PAÍS's 2018 investigation documenting 2,958 victims and 1,570 accused, highlighting ecclesiastical management failures, with Zornoza remaining in contact with minors for months after the report.