Francisco Javier Martínez Fernández
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Francisco Javier Martínez Fernández (born 20 December 1947) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the bishop of Córdoba from 1996 to 2003 and the archbishop of Granada from 2003 to 2023.
Biography
[edit]Born in Madrid, Martínez Fernández graduated in Biblical theology from the Comillas Pontifical University. He was ordained a priest at the age of 25 on 3 April 1972. He served in the parish of Casarrubuelos in the Community of Madrid. He then joined a seminary in Toledo as a teacher of Christology and introduction to the Bible.[1][2]
In 1979, Martínez Fernández enrolled at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. to study Syriac language and literature, and was assistant to the professor from 1981 to 1983. He obtained a Master of Arts degree and then a doctorate in Semitic languages. In 1984 he returned to Spain to teach patristics and theology at a seminary in Madrid.[1][2]
Martínez Fernández was named Spain's youngest bishop on 11 May 1985, serving as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Madrid-Alcalá until March 1986. From 15 March 1986 to 15 March 2003 he was the bishop of Córdoba.[1] He was then named archbishop of Granada, succeeding Antonio Cañizares Llovera who had become archbishop of Toledo and primate of all Spain; the succession was effective from 1 June, following Pope John Paul II's visit to Spain.[2]
In December 2007, Martínez Fernández became Spain's first archbishop to be taken to court as a defendant in a civil case.[3] In what the judge called a "peculiar and unusual case", he was made to pay €3,750 in damages to the similarly named priest Francisco Javier Martínez Medina for coercion and insults. Martínez Fernández had wanted Martínez Medina to not publish a book on Granada Cathedral that was financed by CajaSur, a bank that Martínez Fernández had been in conflict with.[4]
In the Romanones case in 2014, a man from Granada wrote to Pope Francis about his experience of sexual abuse in the church. Martínez Fernández prostrated himself during Mass to ask for forgiveness, and in 2017 was a witness against the alleged abuser, who was acquitted.[3]
In July 2021, Martínez Fernández spoke out against Spain's transgender rights bill and euthanasia in the country. He said that the transgender law "turns feelings into a legal category. This isn't the first time that happened. In the 1930s and 40s, the feeling of Aryan supremacy led to millions of deaths when it bacame law".[5]
After turning 75 years old, Martínez Fernández's resignation was accepted and on 1 February 2023 he was succeeded by José María Gil Tamayo.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "El arzobispo de Granada, sin límites" [The archbishop of Granada, without limits]. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ a b c "Martínez será arzobispo de Granada el día 1 de junio" [Martínez will be the archbishop of Granada from 1 June]. Córdoba (in Spanish). 16 April 2003. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ a b Vallejo, Susana (2 February 2023). "Los 20 años de Javier Martínez al frente de la Iglesia de Granada: de sentarse en un banquillo por injurias al caso Romanones" [Javier Martínez's 20 years in charge of the Church in Granada: from sitting in the dock for insults to the Romanones case]. Granada Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "El arzobispo de Granada, multado con 3.750 euros por coacciones e injurias a un sacerdote" [Archbishop of Granada, fined 3,750 euros for coercion and insults towards a priest]. El Mundo (in Spanish). EFE. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "El arzobispo de Granada califica de "criminal" la ley trans: "Quien ha nacido hombre o mujer lo será siempre"" [Archbishop of Granada calls the trans law "criminal": "Whoever was born a man or woman, will be one forever"] (in Spanish). Onda Cero. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "José María Gil Tamayo, nuevo arzobispo de Granada tras la aceptación de la renuncia de Javier Martínez" [José María Gil Tamayo, new archbishop of Granada after Javier Martínez's resignation was accepted] (in Spanish). Cadena COPE. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2025.