The controversy surrounding Father Borja Escrivá, known on social media as SacerdosMariae, once again raises questions about the Archdiocese of Valencia’s response to situations that, even without resulting in a firm criminal conviction, generate evident public scandal and affect the trust of the faithful.
As InfoVaticana explained, the priest was investigated in the well-known “Operación Telémaco”, a Civil Guard investigation into networks exchanging pedophilic material on the internet.
Although he was ultimately acquitted by the Provincial Court, through the affected party himself we have learned that the then Archbishop of Valencia, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, did not open a canonical file nor conduct any additional ecclesiastical investigation into the facts that evidenced Borja Escrivá storing nude images of minors on his computer.
Only the reaction of the parents prevented him from being appointed to coordinate activities with minors at the Collegiate Church of Gandía.
The judicial process had a complex course. In the first instance, the Criminal Court No. 15 of Valencia, located in Alzira, convicted him of possession of child pornography.
However, the priest appealed the sentence, and the Provincial Court ended up annulling the conviction and acquitting him in a ruling that later became final.
The acquittal was based on the interpretation of the criminal offense of child pornography.
The court considered that the images found in the proceedings did not reach the degree of sexual explicitness required by case law to be criminally classified as child pornography. The sentence itself states literally:
“In the case at hand, we believe it is forced to argue that the images referred to in the sentence in the proven facts can be included in the scope of child pornography, considering the literal content of the provision and the mentioned jurisprudential interpretation; thus the first photograph of a minor between six and twelve years old shows her naked from the back upwards in a smiling pose, without any sexual posture; the second of the images shows two minors over twelve years old in the shower with naked bodies without any touching, the third of the photographs shows a minor over twelve years old, exhibiting only the breasts; the third photograph shows a minor between six and twelve years old, with the naked body just like the fourth photograph, without explicitly focusing on their genital organs, and without poses of clear sexual content”.
The Provincial Court concluded that those images could not be considered child pornography in the strict criminal sense and therefore annulled the conviction.
However, the proceedings themselves confirmed other elements that provoked strong public scandal.
Among them were downloads with titles of aberrant content and the presence on the investigated device of several photographs of minors aged 6 to 12 naked, as described in the sentence itself.
Although these facts did not reach sufficient criminal relevance to sustain a conviction, they do form part of the proven facts of the proceedings.
And precisely for that reason, many faithful consider that the issue is not limited to the criminal sphere, but also to the ecclesial and pastoral sphere, especially when it comes to assigning responsibilities that involve contact with minors.
Despite that context, the Archdiocese of Valencia did not open a canonical file or internal disciplinary investigation after the acquittal in the courts.
In fact, according to the rectification burofax received by this medium from Borja Escrivá, no canonical process was ever initiated regarding the case.
Over time, the priest was reinstated in his ministry and assigned as attached to the Collegiate Church of Gandía.
The controversy erupted when it was announced that he would collaborate by coordinating the junior movement of the parish, a structure that works directly with children and adolescents.
Upon learning of the background of the case, several parents expressed their concern, and some even withdrew their children from the activities.
The reaction of the families ultimately forced a rectification.
In a meeting held with the parents, the abbot of the Collegiate Church announced that the priest would not assume coordination of the juniors nor have direct responsibilities with minors in that area.
The episode centers the debate on pastoral prudence in the assignment of priestly destinations.
Although the criminal process ended with an acquittal, the investigated downloads and the images described in the sentence itself form part of the accredited facts in the proceedings.
For many faithful, precisely for that reason, the relevant issue was no longer criminal but ecclesial: whether it is prudent to entrust responsibilities with minors to a priest whose judicial case included that type of material.
We have also learned, through the rectification burofax sent to this medium, that no canonical process was ever opened regarding the priest.
This fact is especially relevant because, despite the questions posed for months by this medium, the Archdiocese of Valencia has not offered public explanations on the management of the case.
The matter also acquires a singular dimension because Borja Escrivá has become one of the Spanish priests with the greatest presence on social media.
Under the name SacerdosMariae, he currently exceeds 30,000 followers, which has made him a media figure within the digital Catholic sphere.