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Priests, religion teacher arrested for sex abuse in Spain after victim contacts Vatican

Pope Francis reportedly called the alleged victim of the sexual abuse in Granada, Spain, on Aug. 10 and asked for the young man's forgiveness on behalf of the Catholic Church.

By JC Finley
Pope Francis, pictured in 2013, reportedly called a young man who reported church sexual abuse in Granada, Spain, when he was a minor. UPI/Stefano Spaziani
Pope Francis, pictured in 2013, reportedly called a young man who reported church sexual abuse in Granada, Spain, when he was a minor. UPI/Stefano Spaziani | License Photo

MADRID, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Spanish authorities arrested three Catholic priests and a lay religion teacher on Monday for allegedly sexually abusing a minor, Spain's interior minister announced.

According to the Spanish online journal Religion Digital, an investigation was initiated after the victim, now 24, wrote to the Vatican about the abuse by religious figures in the Archdiocese of Granada when he was a minor.

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Pope Francis reportedly called the unidentified man on Aug. 10 and, during their conversation, asked for the young man's forgiveness on behalf of the Catholic Church.

Twelve people, including 10 priests, are believed to be under investigation for sex abuse in Granada. The priests had been removed from their religious duties pending the outcome of the investigation.

On Sunday, the Archbishop of Granada and other diocesan priests prostrated themselves at a Mass in the cathedral "asking forgiveness for the sins of Church, for all of the scandals that have, or might have, occurred among us," the archdiocese wrote on its website.

Pope Francis has vowed to crack down on sexual predators in the church after a series of scandals and amid accusations the church has been protecting abusers.

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During a private Mass in July with six victims of clergy sexual abuse, the pope reaffirmed his commitment to combating sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

"There is no place in the Church's ministry for those who commit these abuses, and I commit myself not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not," the Holy Father said this summer.

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