Father Fran and his accomplices
"It is outrageous that, while many priests and bishops (among them the bishop of Malaga) question the way of life of - for example - homosexual people, they allow their own pastors to happily ignore their own rules"
Iván Gelibter
Malaga
Friday, 29 September 2023, 17:29
The case of Father Fran, the alleged rapist priest from Vélez-Málaga, has all the ingredients of one of those true crime series on Netflix. ... But while I consider myself a fan of that type of show, the story throws up several reflections that go beyond the alleged criminal offences themselves that involve - once again - a man as an offender and five women (as far as we know) as victims of a sex crime.
The judicial services will investigate and act accordingly, but again - at least for the time being - we are witness to the same 'modus operandi' of the institution that should be looking out for the well-being of its followers.
The events were reported by "Fran's partner" (of the sentimental kind). Fran's partner? Yes, because it turns out that this individual had a girlfriend (or girlfriends, one in every port); this fact was apparently known by everyone, including the Diocese of Malaga.
It is outrageous that, while many priests and bishops (among them the bishop of Malaga) question the way of life of - for example - homosexual people, they allow their own pastors to happily ignore their own rules.
However, hypocrisy, while offensive, is not a crime.
What it would be good to investigate more thoroughly is how exactly the Diocese reacted when Fran's girlfriend told them the first time that she had discovered apparently illicit sexual material on the priest's computer.
For now we know that they didn't report it to who they should have, but instead they merely transferred the alleged evil to congregations in a couple of Malaga villages.
The problem with the Church is not that they are strict in public and permissive in private.
It isn't even the high number of sexual offences their priests have been accused of.
The real problem is that, until they become the first to report cases, at the forefront of filing complaints, there are those who could blame them for being an accomplice to these sins.
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