Spain: bishop in love possessed by the devil?
Xavier Novell, a Catalan bishop known for his strict stance and hate speeches against homosexuality and abortion as well as for supporting Catalan independence, has resigned his post, reportedly because he fell in love a woman and now lives with her. According to the Spanish Bishops' Conference the ex-bishop has been possessed by Satan.
Twisted morality
Satan appeared to the Catholic Church at the wrong moment, mocks author Manuel Jabois in El País:
“[Novell] called abortion 'one of the greatest genocides in history', and was crazy enough to claim that homosexuality should be 'cured with conversation therapy'. ... Now he is in the headlines for something more refreshing: he has given up his episcopate and left the Catholic Church because he has fallen madly in love with a woman (writer). The Church's reaction - without having read the books - has been to suspect that he is possessed by the devil, perfectly illustrating the main problem with the institution: namely that it didn't occur to anyone that Bishop Novell had been possessed by the devil when he was making his hate speeches, but only when he came to know what love is.”
Demonic separatism
The daily La Razón, which has close ties to the Bishops' Conference, sees the sins of the ex-bishop's past elsewhere:
“Nobody came up with the idea that Bishop Novell might need his demons exorcised when he defended Catalan independence without giving it a second thought. It is just as the Pope says, that the devil exists and walks among us. There can be no doubt that his spirit is as dark as the robe he wore. ... There is a certain amount of humour in the fact that he gave up his office for an author of erotic, but also satanic literature.”