Urgell Bishopric temporarily bars priest accused of sexually assaulting seminarian from public ministry

The seminarian, who is 26, filed a complaint for sexual assault with the Mossos d’Esquadra on 26 October against a rector of the Diocese of Urgell, according to a report by the Catalan newspaper ARA, which said it had access to the complaint. He had emigrated to Spain motivated by faith and a desire to become a priest. The complaint alleges that the rector, who had helped him enter the diocesan seminary of Urgell, sexually assaulted him and then controlled and threatened him. These are allegations, and no court has ruled on them.

The Church received a denunciation in October from a victim who was of age at the time, according to infobae.com. That report says the Bishopric held an in-person meeting, agreed to on 30 October, at which the seminarian was heard. ARA’s later report states that the seminarian had reported the assault to the diocese’s abuse reporting office more than a month earlier and that no action followed, according to that report. The Bishopric has not, in the sources provided, responded to that specific claim. Protecting people who may be harmed by those in authority is a serious duty (Mark 9:42).

On Monday, 9 November, the Bishopric of Urgell announced in a statement that the accused priest ceases from pastoral offices and is forbidden the public exercise of the priestly ministry. Infobae reported that the priest was barred from exercising the priestly ministry and from carrying out pastoral duties for the duration of the investigation. The Bishopric described the measure as temporary, in effect while the investigation of the reported facts continues. It does not amount to a conviction or to expulsion from the clerical state.

According to ARA, the priest will be able to continue collecting his salary and living in a diocesan rectory. The sources do not report any criminal charge, plea, lawsuit, or court ruling in the matter. Their accounts differ on the accused’s position: ARA’s first report calls him a rector of the diocese, while the later reports refer to him as a priest.