Xavier Novell, a Spanish bishop, has quit the church after he reportedly fell in love with an author of satanic erotic fiction.
The 52-year-old cleric, who became Spain’s youngest bishop in 2010, resigned at the end of last month, citing “personal reasons”.
Catholic publication, Religión Digital, reported that he and Silvia are in a relationship.
Xavier said he had “fallen in love” and that he “wanted to do the right thing” when he was asked about his relationship with Silvia – who wrote The Hell of Gabriel’s Lust and the erotic trilogy Amnesia.
Silvia’s book, The Hell of Gabriel’s Lust, discusses occultism, sadism and covers “the raw struggle between good and evil, god and Satan and angels and demons”.
Some sources claim that Pope Francis urged Xavier to have an exorcism himself to “free his troubled spirit” – but he refused.
The bishop has previously come under fire before for his links to so-called “gay conversion therapy”.
He was accused of holding a wedding between a woman and one of the young men who attended the “treatment” – without the support or consent of the local priest or bride’s parents.
He has also been an outspoken supporter of independence for Catalonia.
Two former ministers from the rebel Catalan government who were imprisoned on charges of sedition were some of those who expressed their support of Xavier’s resignation.
Mr Rull said: “Bishop Novell has always been by the side of political prisoners, with words and, above all, with deeds, becoming one of the few exceptions from the Catalan Church hierarchy.”
