Administrator appointed for Morocco cardinal facing sexual abuse claims

News of the accusations surprised the tiny Catholic community, which makes up just 0.1 per cent of Morocco’s population – mostly young sub-Saharan francophone Africans in Rabat for study or work.

Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, the Archbishop of Rabat who stepped aside last month after sexual abuse accusations, reported the appointment of an apostolic administrator to run his Moroccan archdiocese. 

“This decision comes pending the results of the investigation conducted by the Holy See concerning me and the diocese,” said Cardinal López Romero, a 74-year-old Spanish Salesian.  

He denies the sexual abuse claims of at least five adult women who have come forward in recent months. The cardinal says he “committed neither assault, nor violence, nor sexual harassment”, but stepped aside to allow the Vatican inquiry to proceed.

Mgr Mario León Dorado OMI, apostolic prefect of Laâyoune-Sahara in Western Sahara, now has “all the rights and faculties granted to resident bishops”, said the communique announcing his appointment.

AFP said no complaint has yet been filed with the Moroccan justice system, and the two women who repeated their claims to the French news agency have not yet been contacted by the Holy See.

News of the accusations was a surprise to the tiny Catholic community, which makes up just 0.1 per cent of Morocco’s almost completely Muslim population. They are mostly young sub-Saharan francophone Africans in Rabat for study or work, who appreciate the jovial cardinal’s support for migrants.

López Romero is also co-president of the Al Mowafaqa Institute, an ecumenical centre in Rabat promoting Christian-Islamic harmony. Pope Francis, who made him a cardinal in 2019 after visiting Morocco, was impressed by the interreligious work the Catholic-Protestant institute does with Muslims.

Lopez Romero, close to the late Pope, often spoke of the “grace of being a minority”. Considered papabile by some last year, the cardinal denied any ambition to become pontiff, remarking: “If I am elected pope, it would be as if someone told me Messi was going to retire and I was his replacement.”

Mgr Dorado, the apostolic administrator, ministers to about 600 Catholics – all foreigners – in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony claimed by Morocco but disputed by the pro-independence Polisario Front backed by Algeria.

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