Teacher at Opus Dei school in Spain maintains innocence after abuse conviction by Vatican

Madrid, Spain, Mar 5, 2025 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

A former teacher at an Opus Dei school in Spain has been asked to leave the personal prelature after being found guilty following a second Vatican investigation of alleged sexual abuse that occurred at the school more than 15 years ago.

In what is know as the “Gaztelueta case” or the “Cuatrecasas case,” a complaint was filed against José María Martínez, a teacher at Gaztelueta School (an Opus Dei institution located in Lejona, Spain) for the alleged sexual abuse of student Juan Cuatrecasas between 2008 and 2010.

There was a canonical investigation into the case and Martínez was exonerated in October 2015. A Spanish court sentenced him to two years in prison after a long process that lasted from June 2015 to November 2020.

In June 2022, Cuatrecasas met Pope Francis at the recording of the Disney documentary “The Pope Answers,” which aired in April 2023. The pontiff then decided to reopen the case and appointed Bishop José Antonio Satué of the Diocese of Teruel and Albarracín in Spain as delegate (judge).

Satué informed Martínez, who maintains his innocence, on Monday, March 3, of his conviction in the sexual abuse case that calls for his departure from Opus Dei. 

As Martínez recounted on his blog, he was notified on March 3 of the sentence — which was signed Dec. 17, 2024 — with a note stating that he could not have been informed earlier because the bishop could not “free himself from other non-delegable and non-postponable obligations.”

Martínez also emphasized the fact that Satué announced the sentence on the day the prelate was summoned to appear before a judge in Pamplona to defend himself against a suit filed by Martínez for violating his right to a good reputation.

According to Martínez, the court appearance was postponed because the bishop “has not provided the documentation that was requested and other requested material is missing that the Church has never made public.”

According to a document dated Feb. 25 submitted to the court in charge of the case to which ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, has had access, the postponement of the hearing was made at the request of Martínez’s defense.

The request for postponement was made because the notary José Luis Perucha, who had in his possession the documentation provided by Satué, claimed “to not have the requested documents as documentary evidence.”

In addition, it is alleged that “the documentation requested from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has not been received” and that, at the time of submitting the document requesting postponement, Martínez had not been notified of the “conclusive decree of the administrative criminal process,” i.e., the sentence communicated on Monday.

Possible appeal to the Apostolic Signatura

Martínez announced that he is considering appealing the decision to the Apostolic Signatura, the only Vatican judicial body that, in his opinion, “can stop this nonsense.”

According to sources familiar with the case consulted by ACI Prensa, when the Vatican rejected Martínez’s defense’s request that Satué recuse himself from the case, they were told that when the sentence is eventually issued, if they contest it, they could turn to the Apostolic Signatura.

The same sources specified that the deadline to appeal to this court is 60 days from March 3, when the decree with the sentence was communicated.

Martínez reiterated his innocence and insisted on denouncing what he considers “irregularities of the canonical process”: being tried twice for the same crime “because the initial acquittal did not please the person who put together the ecclesiastical court”; that “legislation approved after the alleged events” was applied; that Satué would urge him to plead guilty in his first communication to him; or that “legislation that has not been applied to any layperson” was used.

“The whole process has been a shameful farce. There has never been the slightest possibility of defending myself,” Martínez said, having already written a letter expressing “great regret” in which he requested his departure from the institution founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá.

“I prefer to leave rather than be a problem,” he explained, while thanking the support received “from many people in Opus Dei, who know perfectly well that I am innocent” and emphasizing his adherence to the apostolate’s prelature: “In my conscience, [Opus Dei] will always be my spiritual family.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262565/teacher-at-opus-dei-school-in-spain-maintains-innocence-after-abuse-conviction-by-vatican