Catholic bishop in Spain resigns after abuse allegation

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo has accepted the resignation of a bishop in Spain who is being investigated over an alleged abuse case, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Bishop Rafael Zornoza is under investigation over an allegation of sexual abuse of a teenage boy in the 1990s, which he denies.

Zornoza, who had led the Diocese of Cadiz y Ceuta on Spain's southern coast since 2011, is the first Spanish Catholic bishop publicly known to have been investigated by the Vatican for an allegation of abuse.

In a short statement, the Vatican said only that Pope Leo had accepted the resignation of the bishop. It did not mention the allegation.

At the age of 76, Zornoza is a year beyond the traditional retirement age for Catholic bishops.

For decades, the 1.4 billion-member Church has been shaken by scandals around the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The Cadiz y Ceuta Diocese said this month that the allegations were being investigated by a Church tribunal being convened at the Vatican's embassy to Spain, located in Madrid.

Pope Leo, who was elected in May, has held two meetings with groups of survivors of abuse in the past month.

(Reporting by Joshua McElweeWriting by Keith Weir, Editing by William Maclean)

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