The mystery of the sudden resignation of Spanish Bishop Xavier Novell Gomà in August seems to have been resolved.
As reported by the Spanish media on Thursday, the 52-year-old Bishop of Solsona in Catalonia fell in love with a woman with whom he wants to live.
Novell, who became diocesan bishop at the age of 41, was seen in the Spanish Church as a child prodigy of evangelization - and at the same time a problem child because, in contrast to the Spanish Bishops' Conference, he supported the independence of Catalonia.
He also aroused opposition from liberal Catholics and the left media with his conservative views on abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia.
Matthias Rüb
Political correspondent for Italy, the Vatican, Albania and Malta based in Rome.
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According to the portal Religión Digital, Novell's Queen of Hearts is the 38-year-old book author and psychologist Silvia Caballol.
According to the Spanish media, your works have a satanic-erotic content.
Caballol is divorced and has two children.
It is not known whether the resigned bishop and his partner, who is almost a decade and a half younger, want to "regularize" their wild relationship in any way.
Religión Digital only quoted Novell with the sentence: “I fell in love and want to do things right.” Apparently, the cleric and the psychologist share a fascination for the Satanic: Novell has emerged with several theological publications on exorcism.
Back to the previous job
Novell had surprisingly submitted a resignation to the Pope in August "for personal reasons". Francis accepted Novell's resignation from the office of Bishop of Solsona and installed the Bishop of Vic in Catalonia, Romà Casanova, as the apostolic administrator of Solsona. It is unclear whether Novell is seeking dismissal from the clergy or whether he in turn will be transferred to the laity by the Pope. According to Spanish media reports, Novell, his partner and their children now live together in Manresa near his former bishopric. There the cleric should try to find a job in his previous occupation as an agricultural engineer.
According to canon law, Novell is still a bishop, he just no longer heads a diocese. In the Catholic Church in Spain there are therefore increasing voices that the situation must be settled. Novell has enjoyed tremendous support in its diocese. Immediately after his appointment as diocesan bishop in 2010, he reduced his salary by 25 percent and made church accommodation available to large families with low incomes. He also made a name for itself by calling for optional celibacy and a stronger role for women in the church. On the other hand, he criticized abortions and gay marriage and advocated “conversion therapies” for homosexuals.