Xavier Novell
Xavier Novell i Gomà (born 1969) is a Spanish former bishop in the Roman Catholic Church, who left the church to marry Silvia Caballol y Clemente on 22 November 2021.[1][2] He gained notoriety when it was learned that his wife Caballol was an author of erotic literature.[2]
Novell was born in 1969 in the Province of Lleida of Spain.[3] He attended the University of Lleida where he earned a degree in agricultural technical engineering.[3] In 1997 he earned a bachelor's in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University,[3] and was ordained as a priest.[2] He earned a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2004.[3] He was appointed to the diocese of Solsona in Catalonia[4] in 2010 at the age of 41, becoming Spain's youngest bishop.[2] As Bishop he is reported to have been involved in "Conversion therapy" for gay people,[2] to have compared abortion to "genocide",[4] and supported Catalan regional independence. He announced his resignation from his diocese 23 August 2021, citing "personal reasons."[3][4] (Roman Catholic priests are forbidden to marry by canon law.) In December 2021, the Spanish Episcopal Conference issued a statement referring to Novell as "bishop emeritus of Solsona", and stating that Novell retained his title as bishop but was now forbidden under canon law from “exercising any of the rights and duties inherent to the episcopal office", such as administering the sacraments or engaging "in any teaching activity, whether public or private.”[2][3] According to the Guardian, as of December 2021, he was reported to be "working for a company", Semen Cardona,[5] "that extracts and sells pig semen".[2] His wife, Caballol (~1983 - ), a divorced mother of two children, was a clinical psychologist who quit that profession to become (what her publisher describes as) “a dynamic and transgressive author who’s made her mark on the thorny world of literature by turning all our moral and ethical questions upside down”.[2] One of her novels, The Hell of Gabriel's Lust, has been described by the Catholic News Agency and International Business Times as having "Satanic overtones".[3] [4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Ex-bishop who fell for satanic writer now pleasures pigs". The Week. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jones, Sam (12 December 2021). "Spanish bishop who married erotica author is stripped of powers". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ramos, David (13 December 2021). "Diocese announces sanctions on Spanish bishop who attempted marriage". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d C., Manthan (7 September 2021). "Spanish Bishop Resigns from His Position to Pursue Relationship with Erotic Writer who Penned Novels with Satanic Overtones". International Business Times. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Yalung, Brian (9 November 2021). "Ex-Bishop Ends Up Artificially Inseminating Pigs After Being Excommunicated". Latin Times. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
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