Spanish priest faces 3 years in prison for alleged hate speech against Islam in a 2016 article. Case sparks debate over free speech and selective justice.
Newsroom (30/09/2025, Gaudium Press ) In a case that has thrust Spain’s tensions over religious dialogue, free speech, and hate-crime laws into sharp relief, Father Custodio Ballester, a 61-year-old Catholic priest from Barcelona, is set to stand trial Wednesday in the Provincial Court of Málaga on charges of inciting hatred against Islam. Prosecutors, led by Fiscal María Teresa Verdugo, are seeking a three-year prison sentence and an eight-year ban on teaching for the cleric, whose alleged offense stems from a 2016 article and subsequent media comments questioning the feasibility of interfaith dialogue with Islam.
Father Ballester, ordained in the Archdiocese of Barcelona for over 27 years and currently serving as coadjutor at San Sebastián parish in Badalona, has long been a vocal advocate for pro-life causes and traditional Catholic doctrine. His critics have accused him of inflammatory rhetoric on topics like abortion and homosexuality, but supporters hail him as a defender of Christian values in an increasingly secular Europe. The charges date back to December 28, 2016, when Ballester published “El Imposible Diálogo con el Islam” (“The Impossible Dialogue with Islam”) in the Catalan-language Catholic outlet Germinans Germinabit. The piece was a direct rebuttal to a pastoral letter by Barcelona’s Archbishop, Cardinal Juan José Omella, titled “El Necesario Diálogo con el Islam” (“The Necessary Dialogue with Islam”), which urged Catholics to foster understanding amid rising migration and global tensions.
In his essay, Ballester argued that true dialogue is untenable under Islamic doctrine, citing historical and contemporary examples of persecution against non-Muslims in majority-Islamic countries. “Islam does not admit dialogue. Either you believe, or you are an infidel who must be subdued one way or another,” he wrote, referencing verses in the Quran that he claimed legitimize violence against unbelievers. He questioned Omella’s call for engagement: “What dialogue are we talking about when there are countries where those who do not profess Islam are murdered?” Ballester emphasized that his critique targeted “radical Islam” — not peaceful Muslims — and drew on reports of Christian suffering in places like Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria.
The complaint originated in March 2017 from Musulmanes contra la Islamofobia (Muslims Against Islamophobia), a Barcelona-based advocacy group with ties to left-leaning politics, including former members of Barcelona en Comú, the party once led by Mayor Ada Colau. The association, which has received public subsidies from Catalonia’s regional government, accused Ballester of fostering discrimination. Prosecutors in Málaga — where the hosting platform for a related 2016 online debate, La Ratonera Digital, is domiciled — amplified the case by incorporating Ballester’s article and remarks from that forum, where he and fellow priest Father Jesús Calvo (now 80) discussed jihadism alongside moderator Armando Robles, a lay editor at Alerta Digital. All three defendants face similar charges; Verdugo, who assumed her role as Málaga’s hate-crimes specialist in 2020 and now heads a new equality watchdog under Spain’s Ministry of Equality, has been criticized for selective enforcement.
The trial, originally slated for September 2024, was postponed due to a scheduling conflict with Ballester’s defense attorney, Javier Rodrigálvarez, a practicing Catholic who has represented the priest pro bono. Now rescheduled for October 1 at 10 a.m. in Málaga’s City of Justice — a public hearing open to observers — it comes after an eight-year legal odyssey that Ballester describes as a “climate of terror” designed to silence dissent. “They want to use me as an example so that others censor themselves,” he told El Debate in a recent interview, ironizing that in Pakistan, his words might warrant a death sentence rather than mere imprisonment. Ballester, who has faced prior complaints over his anti-abortion homilies (all dismissed), insists his intent was pastoral: to alert the faithful to threats against Christianity, not to vilify individuals. “I know Muslims who were not offended and understood I was referring to those who live Islam in a violent, radical way,” he told Catholic News Agency earlier this year.
The case has polarized Spain’s conservative and progressive camps. Right-leaning outlets like Libertad Digital and InfoCatólica decry it as ideological persecution, pointing to Musulmanes contra la Islamofobia’s alleged sympathies for groups like the Taliban and Iran’s regime — including a 2022 article defending protests after Mahsa Amini’s death as “Western fabrications.” They contrast it with leniency toward anti-Christian rhetoric: Prosecutors recently declined to charge comedian Ignatius Farray for jokes urging stoning priests and bombing the Valley of the Fallen, deeming them “humor.” Figures like Vox MEP Juan Carlos Girauta have publicly backed Ballester, tweeting that the article echoes Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 Regensburg address on faith and reason — hardly a manifesto of hate. On X (formerly Twitter), hashtags like #TodosSomosCustodioBallester have trended, with users from Catholic student groups to libertarian commentators vowing prayers and protests.
A petition by Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), a legal advocacy group, has garnered over 25,000 signatures urging Verdugo to drop the charges, framing the trial as a broader assault on religious liberty. “This is surreal: Attacks on churches go unpunished, yet a priest faces jail for warning about extremism,” the group stated in a September 28 release. International Catholic media, including The European Conservative and LifeSiteNews, have amplified the story, likening it to a “modern Inquisition” where truth-telling risks prosecution.
Yet the Catholic hierarchy’s response has been muted. The Spanish Bishops’ Conference has issued no statement, and Barcelona’s archdiocese — despite Ballester’s incardination there — has opted for “discreet silence,” sources told El Debate. Cardinal Omella, whose letter sparked the controversy, reportedly called Ballester last week with private encouragement: “If you end up in jail, I’ll visit you,” the priest recounted on esRadio’s La Mañana de Federico. This reticence has drawn ire from Ballester’s allies, who see it as ecclesiastical timidity amid a perceived surge in anti-Christian incidents — from vandalized churches to mockery in media.
From the other side, Musulmanes contra la Islamofobia defends the prosecution as a bulwark against rising Islamophobia in Europe. “We trust the judicial system to address acts that could constitute hate crimes and empower Muslim communities to report discrimination,” the group said in a statement on its website. Director Ibrahim Miguel Ángel Pérez, a former Barcelona en Comú activist, frames the case as part of broader efforts to combat “hate speech” that endangers minorities. Verdugo’s office has not commented publicly, but critics note her rapid escalation of the complaint contrasts with delays in other probes.
At stake is more than one priest’s fate. As Europe grapples with migration, terrorism, and cultural clashes — from the 2015 Paris attacks to recent riots in France — Ballester’s trial probes the limits of critique in a post-Charlie Hebdo era. “How far can Islam be criticized without risking prosecution?” ask supporters, echoing debates in France and the UK over blasphemy laws and secularism. Ballester, ever the ironist, told Crónica: “I’m grateful to the prosecution — at least they’re not asking for the death penalty.”
As the gavel falls in Málaga, the verdict could redefine Spain’s fragile balance between protecting minorities and safeguarding speech — a fault line that runs through Europe’s soul.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from European Conservative, Infocatholica, CNA
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