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IN THIS BLOG ENTRY:
1.- ARCHBISHOP COBO RETAINS GONZALO RUIPÉREZ AS PARRISH PRIEST, DESPITE ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSING YOUNG ADULT FEMALES FROM HIS PARRISH AND FATHERING TWO CHILDREN IN MADRIDTo request an interview or more information, email jacquespintor@gmail.com
Catholic priest Father Gonzalo Ruipérez has been stirring deep concern among the faithful at the parish of San Juan de Dios in Madrid, Spain, after revelations of behaviors sharply at odds with the values he professes. Despite his exceptional charisma and innate ability to captivate and win over his community, Gonzalo has displayed a pattern of conduct that severely breaches his priestly vows, engaging in sexual acts that are not only potentially criminal but outright felonious. Here's the story.
Enjoy the read.
Jacques Pintor
THE SEXUAL LIFE OF CATHOLIC CLERGY
From the pulpit, Gonzalo’s life seems exemplary. Even Opus Dei has highlighted him as a central figure in an afternoon of fellowship and worship at the Theological Athenaeum in Madrid, an event gathering priests and friends in the context of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, indissolubly linked to Opus Dei. During this meeting, Gonzalo gave a training talk to priests and seminarians frequenting the center. We have reported on this previously, and you can revisit the story by following this link, here.
We have already told you about the two adult children Gonzalo has from two different women, secretly hidden by him and the Church as a clandestine pact, and who, adding insult to injury, are seminarians or have finished their seminary studies in Madrid.
Gonzalo's life appears exemplary, we tell you. However, behind the scenes, a shocking reality hides. Gonzalo Ruipérez is accused of maintaining inappropriate relationships with multiple women simultaneously, young parishioners who saw him as a guide and protector.
This behavior, which includes prolonged and tight hugs as a usual farewell, has been described by witnesses as a form of harassment towards young immigrants who, in the process of applying for work or residency in Spain, find themselves in an especially precarious position.
Furthermore, it has been reported that the priest has sent amorous messages to women, a blatant contradiction to his commitment to celibacy and a clear manipulation of these ties.
One of the controversial episodes involves Ruipérez’s decision to secretly and under questionable circumstances house a single mother with her children at the parish house. Blinds drawn and curtains closed. Outside of protocol and after having rekindled his old relationship with this woman, leaving to pursue it, the new one which he was fostering. We have learned that he provides her with money to send to her relatives in another country and for her children's caretakers. However, such necessity does not seem urgent since the parish knows that the children have not always slept in the house, as the woman travels occasionally and does not take them with her. Those days usually coincide with Gonzalo’s absence as well. It is taken for granted that they have slept together and fornicated like unmarried lovers, impossible for a Roman Catholic priest who is single.
Though the priest justifies this act of hospitality as a gesture of charity, the discretion with which he has handled the situation has raised suspicions of impropriety and a lack of transparency. Besides his love life, of mutual touching with catechists according to witnesses and complaints sent to the Archdiocese of Madrid in these terms, of behaviors on parish outings with his current beloved as if they were a real couple, Gonzalo is described as someone who never misses an opportunity to leverage his position for personal gain.
Although the parish he leads has limited resources, he displays an extravagant lifestyle, sometimes financed in unclear ways, raising suspicions about the management of parish funds.
Gonzalo Ruipérez has been seen openly lying about the use of funds requested by the parish for other purposes such as summer camps, both to close collaborators and higher authorities of the Diocese. The lack of credible justification for the proper use of some funds received from charitable entities or banks has raised alarm among some intermediaries of those entities, who have reported their concerns.
The personal life of Gonzalo has been, we see, a subject of scrutiny by his parish community. They describe the priest as a person of dual nature: charming and cordial in public, but capable of a violent and manipulative temper in private. This dichotomy has led to situations of verbal and physical abuse, evidenced in testimonies from community members who have experienced his wrath and disdain.
The recurring absences of Ruipérez from the parish for periods of several days have become a pattern of behavior, according to sources in the parish community, and often coincide with the irregular occupant of the parish house. This fact has been communicated to the auxiliary bishop and the archpriest of the area, as well as to the intern priest who continues his studies while doing internships at the parish. Despite the evidence and concerns raised, the Church of Madrid seems to prioritize the "good Gonzalo does," maintaining an ambivalent stance in the face of scandals.
It appears that in the context of the investigation opened by the Archdiocese of Madrid on Gonzalo, he has been warned to moderate his behavior, as, we are told, he has been more "restrained" these months of the year 2024. However, despite the parishioners' belief that their shepherds are investigating to help him, the Archdiocese of Madrid continues to reinforce Gonzalo's image as an exemplary priest (see this propaganda by Gonzalo himself on the official page of the Diocese of Madrid in March 2024). This insistence, knowing what really happens, is not only counterproductive but also causes consternation among those who know the true nature of Gonzalo Ruipérez. Archbishop's Cobo diocese prefers to hide reality and allow ongoing occurrences rather than prevent the sexual abuses of its priest against young immigrants if it tarnishes its image.
With a history already tarnished by scandals in other dioceses, Gonzalo Ruipérez faces a critical moment, with corrective measures expected not only to seek his personal well-being but also to aim to restore faith and harmony in the parish he has led until now. These measures will likely not come. We venture from this page that the next secularization of Gonzalo Ruipérez will be at his own request rather than disciplinary. This, certainly, like the case of the priest from Jaca visiting homo sex and alcohol dens, recently funded by Bishop Ruiz-Martorell's Diocese to climb a managerial position in the Public Health Administration of Aragon while still being a priest exempt from his duties, contrasts painfully with the central axis of our investigation in Spain: the harassment and downfall of Archbishop Manuel Ureña from his see in Zaragoza by the plot led by Cardinal Omella, the Jesuit Arana, and the former ecclesiastical judge and former diocesan notary, Roberto Ferrer, and Mari Carmen Amador.
The discomfort generated is palpable and extends beyond ecclesiastical walls, affecting community cohesion. This critical situation has reached a turning point, with close collaborators openly questioning his integrity and leadership, and a climate of tension and distrust spreading, compromising the stability of the Vallecas parish in Madrid, San Juan de Dios. The secularization that Gonzalo Ruipérez claims he will request to be free is not coming, and the leprosy spreads.
Please, refer to the article in Spanish for access to the whole wealth of links to other publications and documents. To be continued with the transcript of the discussions with the journalist revealing his departure from the priesthood, a fact not publicly disclosed by the Huesca-Jaca Diocese.
Learn more following this link, here.
Jacques Pintor, journalist © 2024 JACQUES PINTOR. Any reference to this article must directly mention this blog entry and the author, Yanelis Tovar. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, DATA, OR CORRECTIONS, please contact jacquespintor@gmail.com.FOLLOW US AND CONTRIBUTE TO:
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