Ceuta’s bishop criticizes Moroccan and Spanish officials, calls for prayer
August 11, 2026
» Continue to this story on Diócesis de Cádiz y Ceuta
CWN Editor's Note: In the aftermath of the Ceuta migrant crisis, the local bishop criticized Moroccan and Spanish officials: the former for their slogans and “malicious promises,” the latter for failing to protect the city.
Bishop Ramón Valdivia Jiménez, auxiliary bishop of Seville and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta, wrote on August 8:
On one side of the border were young people with no future who threw themselves into the unknown, driven only by political slogans or malicious promises; adults who took advantage of the chaos to flee criminal charges in their country, perhaps thanks to some premeditated pardon devised for this occasion; and boys and girls who, abandoned by their families, became cannon fodder for predators; on the other, there are people who have felt their personal space violated; families fearful that, whether at night or in broad daylight, these individuals would enter their homes and demand food or a charge for their cell phone batteries; closed businesses, fear in people’s eyes, uncertainty about the possibility that they might reappear; and, above all, the anger stemming from the lack of protection that those in power are supposed to guarantee.
Bishop Valdivia also thanked Our Lady of Africa for her maternal care and called the faithful to a prayer vigil on August 14.
“I believe it is necessary to turn our gaze to God,” he wrote. “When neighboring powers threatened Israel’s frailty, the Patriarchs and Prophets raised their hands and begged for divine mercy. So too, Jesus Christ wept at the destruction of Jerusalem. For this reason, I urge you to hold a Prayer Vigil for Peace, Stability and Justice in Ceuta in all the parishes of the Diocese, as suggested by Pope Leo XIV on the evening of the vigil of the Assumption of Mary.”
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