The Bishopric of Malaga insists: it did not know that the priest arrested yesterday in Vélez-Málaga had sexually abused any woman until the month of August, when his romantic partner went to the Church of Santa María Micaela in Melilla, where the man was assigned, to inform them that he had found some videos of a sexual nature in which he appeared attacking several women. At that moment, she explains, they referred her to the Police.
But the defense made by the spokesman for the Malaga Diocese, Antonio Moreno, clashes head-on with the bride’s story. Sources close to the investigation indicate that the complainant would have alerted the priests as early as January of the existence of these recordings. Shortly after, and without any file being filed against the individual for this matter, he was transferred to Malaga, where he worked as a “collaborator” in the parishes of Yunquera and El Burgo.
“It is totally false” that they knew about these facts, explains Moreno, “at that time the relationship she had with this priest was known, but not the existence of those videos.” It was this Monday when the Diocese withdrew the ministerial licenses from Francisco Javier, as the detainee is called, “the previous step for a canonical process that would come later, when everything was confirmed and when all the things were seen.” “clearly,” he reports.
Although the Church does not allow a priest to maintain a romantic relationship, the truth is that it was popular that Fran had a relationship with this woman in Melilla. When she confirmed it in the month of January, the priest was sent “for health reasons” to Malaga without any reprimand from the Bishopric. Eight months later, in August, the ex-girlfriend of the now detained man returned to the Church where she was referred to the Police, where she handed over a copy of the recordings when she sensed that the women who appeared in them were not aware of what was happening to them. .
Thus, an investigation began that ended yesterday with the arrest of the 34-year-old priest in Vélez-Málaga, where he lived with his mother, and who has been accused of committing four sexual assaults and five crimes against privacy. The individual would have sedated his victims, all belonging to his circle of friends, and would have recorded them while he attacked them. They did not remember having been victims of these attacks when the Police informed them of the events, as stated by this security body, which does not rule out that the number of affected people will increase as the material that was seized during the search continues to be analyzed. practiced in his home this Monday.
At the moment, five victims have been identified who were allegedly abused in a period between 2017 and 2019. The man attacked them on friends’ trips, in different years and in different locations, always limited to Catholic events, such as camps, and It has even been reported that some of the attacks were committed in a parish house and in his own home.
It was in 2017 when he was ordained a priest in Malaga. He began his parish work in his native Vélez-Málaga and, after passing through several provincial churches, he was assigned to Melilla in 2021. From there, and by decision of the Bishopric, he returned to Malaga lands, this time as a “collaborator” in the parishes of two small towns in the Sierra de las Nieves.
It is in these municipalities where the news has fallen like a bucket of cold water. Fran, who thought he had come to town to contribute new ideas, has turned out to be a predator of women.
The mayor of Yunquera, José María Rodríguez, has indicated that he has no evidence that any of the neighbors have been victims of the priest, although “from the City Council we are open to collaborating with the Civil Guard to see the images and if we recognize any of them.” affected”. Furthermore, the councilor has reported that the priest had communicated a few weeks ago that he would not be able to continue celebrating mass in the area for personal reasons. “Lately he was a little nervous because he saw that the case was on the table,” he detailed.
The detainee, son of a Poor Clare nun who later became a catechist and educator in a daycare center, did not want to collaborate with the National Police after his arrest. For the moment he remains silent without making any statement about the accusations made.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues. The Bishopric of Malaga, for its part, has placed itself at the service of Justice and has asked that the investigation go “to the end.” ·We are the first interested in knowing the whole truth,” says the spokesperson for the Diocese of Malaga, who has asked that “the evil that one has caused does not tarnish the work of so many people who continue to work for others.”
