In a statement sent out this morning, the Bishopric of Mallorca condemns any kind of violence against people, after the Society of Jesus admitted the sexual abuse and assault of a Mallorcan woman over three decades committed by two of its priests. The victim went to court last month to sue a diocesan priest and two Jesuit priests

sebastià taltavull

An image of the Bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Taltavull. Photo: Bisbat de Mallorca.

Following the complaint filed by a woman last June against a priest of the diocese of Mallorca for alleged sexual abuse in which she also accuses two Jesuit priests, the Bishopric of Mallorca has stated today in a statement its “commitment to transparency and willingness to always cooperate fully with the judicial authorities of the State to whom it will provide all necessary information to facilitate the judicial investigation to be carried out,” it reads. For their part, the Jesuits of Mallorca, in a statement issued on Sunday, acknowledged the events, which took place between 1985 and 2001, and apologised to the victim.

In relation to the complaint filed by a woman before the ecclesiastical court of Mallorca in late 2020, and subsequently, in June 2023, before the criminal courts of the State against a priest of the diocese of Mallorca for alleged abuse committed against her person, the Bishopric of Mallorca has stated that from the Church of Mallorca condemn “any kind of abuse and violence against people, we express our firm intention to always seek the truth, welcome the victims and accompany them, offering them psychological support and legal advice”.

Sebastià Taltavull decreed the start of the investigation

In addition, they have detailed that “the court of Mallorca, following the established protocols, transferred the complaint against the Jesuit religious priests to their Major Superiors, given that the diocesan court was incompetent to investigate these religious in this case so that the religious congregation could carry out its procedure”. The communiqué adds that with regard to the diocesan priest, the Bishop of Mallorca “immediately” decreed the opening of a preliminary investigation into his alleged criminal conduct, which was sent to the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (now the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) in Rome, the competent body for these criminal cases. And it states that Bishop Sebastià Taltavull imposed a ban on the public exercise of the ministry, psychological monitoring and “provide him with serious spiritual direction”, “taking into account that he had no pastoral charge”, adds the communiqué.

According to the statement, the Roman Congregation decreed the start of a criminal administrative process to clarify the facts denounced, “which for various reasons has been prolonged over time”, and they are currently awaiting the final judicial resolution, “which according to the news we have is forthcoming”.