On the Selection and Ordination of Inadequate Candidates in the Diocese of Huesca-Jaca
While we provide comprehensive analysis of the repercussions this situation may have for the Spanish Church, we wish to highlight a development that has captured public attention since February 8, 2024. This concerns the recently appointed Director of Health Services for Calatayud, the lapsed Vicente López-Brea, whose selection was carried out through a direct appointment by his bishop-friend.
We invite readers to explore the linked material below, where detailed information is available about Vicente López-Brea, who was regularly seen in sexual exchange venues shortly before his ordination. This priest neglected the more than fifteen parishes under his responsibility in Jaca while pursuing law studies and internships in Zaragoza, and simultaneously aspiring to a position as an auxiliary restaurant aid within the Aragonese public health system.
We also previously reported on the lawsuit filed by the priest against journalist Jordi Picazo, in which he demanded two years in prison, €100,000 in damages, and a €30,000 fine—an amount that has already been embargoed—for revealing the double life of Vicente Jesús López-Brea Urbán. López-Brea’s legal defense and the legal persecution of the journalist were handled until recently by the well-known law firm Cremades Calvo Sotelo, with tight links to Opus Dei.
The judge overseeing the case, citing accusations of homophobia both against the Church and against Picazo, issued a gag order silencing the journalist and facilitating López-Brea’s promotion within the public administration through direct appointments. We will continue to inform on this matter.
Meanwhile, the President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference at that time, Cardinal Juan José Omella, transferred the bishop who is a close associate of the hyper-sexualized priest and now Director of Health in Calatayud—Bishop Julián Ruiz Martorell—to a smaller diocese, removing him from Huesca so that he would not be summoned as a witness by journalist Jordi Picazo in court.
Likewise, Cardinal Omella sent another witness called by Picazo—Monsignor Fernando Arregui, former rector of the Zaragoza seminary—to live and work at the Vatican for the same reason. It is difficult to explain, unless as a maneuver involving the corrupt Spanish Church and the Popular Party in power in Aragon, that a priest hyper-sexualized and ordained against Canon Law would go on to work in the high ranks of the Public Service. Monsignor Arregui had warned Bishop Julián Ruiz Martorell that he could not ordain López-Brea due to his dissolute life.
Background of the Case
At the end of 2021, a priest of the Diocese of Huesca-Jaca sued his former boyfriend, identified as MR, for alleged homophobic discrimination and crimes against personal image. The then bishop of Huesca-Jaca, Julián Ruiz Martorell, was fully aware of the priest’s homosexual inclinations, as several priests from Zaragoza—including former Seminary Rector and Rota Judge Fernando Arregui—had repeatedly informed him of the priest’s total unsuitability for ordination due to his active homosexuality.
Despite this, Julián Ruiz Martorell chose to look the other way and proceeded with the ordination, in direct contradiction of the Code of Canon Law. As such, the ordination may be not only illegal and illicit, but potentially invalid.
The same priest also filed a lawsuit against journalist Jordi Picazo—the only member of our investigative team “Jacques Pintor” residing in Spain. The Jacques Pintor Team publicly denounces this situation as a serious threat to the spiritual integrity of the souls entrusted to this priest. The priest also denounced his former boyfriend, MR, who, as a Catholic, had warned the Bishop of Jaca. This complaint attacks fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to belong to an association or church, while criminalizing journalism itself.
Letter from Jacques Pintor to Bishop Julián Ruiz Martorell
To the Bishop of Huesca-Jaca
Bishop Julián Ruiz Martorell
Diocese of Huesca-Jaca
Madrid, September 15, 2021
Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Distinguished Mr. Julián Ruiz Martorell, Bishop of the Catholic Church for Huesca-Jaca,
I am writing to share with you my astonishment regarding the tragic history of the now Reverend Vicente López-Brea, a history intertwined with the tragedy of Zaragoza that forms part of the investigation of my work as a journalist accredited in Spain and internationally, both with the Il·lustre Col·legi de Periodistes de Catalunya—one of the only eight professional journalists’ guilds in Spain—under number 15083, and with The Chartered Institute of Journalists of London, United Kingdom—the first professional journalists’ body with a royal charter established in the world—under number 44399.
I say that the serious situation of López-Brea is intertwined with the tragedy of Zaragoza because of how his homosexual condition was tolerated, celebrated, and shared by other priests in Zaragoza; and because the tragedy of Zaragoza originated ab initio in the sexual predation committed by a homosexual priest deeply loved and admired by his parishioners, Amadeo Elcoso, in Monzón and Barbastro. Elcoso’s abuses were allegedly concealed by the bishops of Barbastro-Monzón at the time, one of whom was the promoter of the Zaragoza tragedy, now Cardinal, Juan José Omella. Elcoso played a role in the homosexual trajectory of the now former deacon Daniel Peruga, whom Elcoso solicited sexually.
Jesús Gracia Losilla—rector of the Seminary of Zaragoza in 2011—also bears responsibility in this tragedy, whose ramifications are extensive, by admitting Peruga to the Seminary of Zaragoza in September 2001, against the clear and categorical recommendations of the report issued by the ecclesiastical college of Bidasoa in Pamplona, run by Opus Dei, from which Daniel Peruga returned to zaragoza with a negative report.
Carlos Escribano himself had been a disciple of Amadeo Elcoso—Elcoso now lives with his boyfriend in Catalonia. Did Carlos Escribano know of his parish priest’s activities and remain silent out of fear? Did he report them and was ignored? We will know when we ask him, if he answers. For now, we know that Escribano is part of a shadowy “advisory” commission—whether to the Vatican or to the papal nuncio in Spain is unclear—regarding the shortlists of episcopal candidates in Spain. The Spanish press refers to it as a “blocking commission” acting in the shadow of which, according to the press, stands [Jesuit priest] Germán Arana. The fact is that Escribano, together with Omella, forms part of a commission that allegedly blocks and censors the nuncio and prescribes the guidelines to be followed for episcopal candidates in Spain. This invites Escribano, it cannot be denied, to a presumed benevolent silence and servile obedience.
All this also caused great astonishment and scandal to the new rector [the reverend] Alfonso Palos upon his arrival at the Seminary of Zaragoza and his discovery of the Bidasoa report [above mentioned].
You yourself were reportedly warned by your fellow clerics that your current priest, [Vicente Jesús López-Brea Urbán] hereinafter referred to as XYZ, was not suitable for ordination: he is an active homosexual. This leads one to think that, given the same ingredients, the same results will be obtained—results that have already destroyed ecclesial communion in Aragón. It is a history that still cries out to heaven and demands explanations and the assignment of responsibilities, whoever they may fall upon, before Spanish civil justice and Vatican justice.
My astonishment has increased upon learning that XYZ has filed a complaint against one of his former boyfriends, MR, among several he had, because he mistakenly suspects him of having sent our editorial team a shocking video in which, just months before entering the Seminary of Zaragoza, López-Brea mockingly and drunkenly ridiculed his own archbishop, Manuel Ureña Pastor. We received a few days ago the letter sent to you by MR concerning all these matters, which has gone unanswered for over fifteen days since its delivery.
Not only that, but upon my return from covering the International Eucharistic Congress held recently in Budapest, I learned that XYZ has also filed a complaint against me for once again bringing to public light another episode involving a homosexual priest who places in danger the emotional and spiritual well-being of the dozens of communities entrusted to him by his bishop—this time, yourself, Julián Ruiz Martorell. In any potential trial, my lawyer will request your presence as a witness, as well as that of Arregui, Mas, and other priests, some of whom exercise ministry in parishes while openly homosexual and actively practicing homosexuality, as is allegedly the case with [the reverend] Enrique Ester.
Another “Peruga case,” XYZ said—much as the international press now draws parallels between Bishop Novell and “another Milingo case.” Let us hope that XYZ does not become another Amadeo Elcoso.
Within this scandalous context stands the video mentioned above, which came into our possession, in which XYZ, shortly after being admitted to the Seminary of Zaragoza, appears intoxicated at his eighteenth-birthday celebration, mocking the manner of speech of Archbishop Manuel Ureña and using expressions such as “me voy a cagar” [I am going for a sh*t] and “oreemooos,” [let us pray, while raising a glass of gin as if it were the consecrated wine] placing these words in the archbishop’s mouth four months before the prelate was crushed by calumnies that were being fabricated at that very time by [jesuit] Germán Arana, [the reverend] Roberto Ferrer, [the Diocese notary] Mari Carmen Amador, and the now Cardinal Omella—all of whom, I repeat, all of whom currently have pending cases before civil courts [Ferrer and Amador were condemned on civil and also canonical courts].
I have sent this video to the email address info@diocesisdehuesca.org, through the website contact form, and to the Office for the Prevention of Abuse against Minors of your diocese.
This context also includes messages on the social networking platform Tuenti, in which affectionate couple messages are visible between Mr. López-Brea and his then boyfriend MR.
The instigators of those calumnies and of that crime have had to appear before civil courts: Amador and Ferrer were convicted on appeal for allegedly stealing money from the Diocese of Zaragoza and are awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling; Omella awaits judgment from the High Court of Justice of Catalonia; and Arana awaits trial in a criminal complaint for various reasons, including alleged slander and libel against Miguel Ángel Barco.
I myself have received a criminal complaint from Ferrer and Amador for alleged slander, libel, and intent to defame, likely to conceal their crimes if they secured a conviction [Picazo was acquitted of all accusations]. The judge dismissed the complaint as irrelevant after it was proven that I had spoken the truth, given my professional status as a journalist, and because there was no intent to attack their persons but rather to uncover and expose their wrongdoing. With nothing to lose, and likely to assist their associate Arana in a forthcoming trial, they appealed to the Provincial Court. The magistrates reaffirmed the lower court’s reasoning and dismissed the appeal.
The purpose of this letter is to respectfully alert you to the case of XYZ, as other priests of the Church in Aragón have already done, including the current rector of the Seminary of Zaragoza, as well as the Reverend Antonio Mas [Antonio Mas was condemned by the Vatican High Curt together with Amador and ferrer for slander and hate]. All of them were ignored. XYZ was ordained nonetheless. This represents a grave danger to souls, not to mention the danger to XYZ’s own soul and to that of those responsible for the ordination—many consider it frivolous—beginning with his bishop, yourself personally.
A perverse history, in which you appear clearly as a facilitating agent, according to qualified testimony. Among those testimonies are those of the current rector of the Seminary of Zaragoza and of the Catholic priest Antonio Mas, formerly a prominent figure in the Diocese of Zaragoza and now tragically marginalized due to his involvement in a corruption scheme that resulted in a canonical conviction with imposed penance. He has since become irrelevant in diocesan life, buried in purely intellectual studies while drawing a salary.
What follows is offered for the good of the people who are in the hands of a man—XYZ—who is clearly not prepared to work with minors, young women, or anyone seeking closeness to God within the Catholic Church.
The cleric under your authority has built his path on lies—as we have verified and shown—although his situation was already common knowledge. It is evident that he is unfit for ministry when measured against the law of the institution you represent, as numerous alarmed and responsible members of the Church in Aragón have reminded you. The problem does not end there.
The problem is that this situation endangers the consciences of the souls already entrusted to him. These souls will open their intimacy to XYZ within the one-square-meter physical space of a confessional, seeking closeness to God through the counsel of a man who represses his homosexuality in one way while living it in another, in a manner that urgently requires competent guidance for XYZ himself as a human person. Once again, one might paraphrase Christ: what father gives his son a serpent when he asks for bread? The sad answer at this moment is known to us, without a doubt, Julián Ruiz Martorell.
God have mercy on your soul, Bishop—and on mine, and on all of ours. If I remain silent. To each, the God of the Universe has given talents to invest, and of these interests an account will be demanded.
[The letter continues with full citations of Spanish law, Pope Francis’s 2014 address on the “diseases of the Curia,” references to civil legislation on certificates for working with minors, quotations from Frédéric Martel’s Sodoma, testimony excerpts by XYZ, and the final formal request regarding the legally required negative sexual-offense certificate, followed by the complete list of seventeen attached documents.]
Signed,
Jordi Picazo, accredited journalist
cc: Diocesan Commission on Sexual Abuse
Documentation Attached
The letter includes references to 17 supporting documents, including WhatsApp conversations, certified letters, official publications in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE), press articles, chat transcripts, and photographic evidence, all cited as annexes and offered for review by ecclesiastical or civil authorities
Good reading.
Jacques Pintor
This article was first published on February 8, 2024. Updated on 9 January, 2026
By Jacques Pintor.
All rights reserved, @jacquespintor 2026.
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