Barcelona Archbishop Joan Josep Omella has been named in an El País investigation into alleged abuse cover-ups within the Spanish Church. Omella, who previously served as president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, has denied the accusations.
The report says the main case linked to Omella dates to 2022, when he was reportedly told about abuses committed by priest Jorge Alexander Patiño Morales, then rector of the Mare de Déu de Montserrat parish in Guinardó, Barcelona. Patiño Morales was later arrested for touching two young people.
Speaking to RAC1, Omella said he was informed about the events but that no formal complaint was filed. “One thing is when you come to inform, and another if you come to denounce,” he said. He added that the case followed the proper channels to compensate the victims.
“I have not covered up anything. I am sorry. They have to prove it,” Omella said. He also linked the timing of the investigation’s publication to a visit by Pope Leo XIV, adding, “I did what I had to do.”
The investigation also names Omella in a second alleged cover-up involving priest Jordi Senabre, who was rector of the Polinyà parish in Vallès Occidental. In 1990, Senabre was sent as a missionary to Ecuador, with his whereabouts not made public, after accusations of paedophilia. The move was reportedly intended to make him disappear.
Omella said he was not assigned to Catalonia at that time. El País says that Omella, along with his predecessors Ricard Maria Carles and Lluís Martínez i Sistach, knew of Senabre’s destination. Omella told RAC1 that he knew Senabre was in South America, where he later died, but denied that the Church helped him escape. For more Catalonia news, see our news coverage.