It might all have remained a dark secret , if a young man who was an alleged victim of sexual abuse had n't written a letter to the Vatican . And then gotten a surprise phone call from Pope Francis , according to a Spanish digital newspaper . On Monday , Spanish police arrested three Catholic priests and a religion teacher on suspicion of abusing a minor , Spain 's interior minister announced . A court statement from Granada confirmed the arrests of four people `` for a case of sexual abuse , '' and said it would hear initial charges before a judge within three days . The investigation is under seal . The arrests came a day after the Archbishop of Granada and other clerics took the unusual step of prostrating themselves in the cathedral during Sunday Mass , `` asking forgiveness for the sins of Church , for all of the scandals that have , or might have , occurred among us , '' the Granada Archdiocese website reported . The archbishop usually does that once a year , on Good Friday , but he lay on the floor of the cathedral Sunday due to the seriousness of the allegations , a Granada Archdiocese spokeswoman said . The archbishop earlier had removed an unspecified number of priests from their duties , pending an investigation , she said . The arrests of three priests in a single day over sexual abuse allegations is the biggest case of its kind in Spain , said a spokesman in Madrid for the Spanish church leadership , known as the Episcopal Conference . Since 1997 , 10 priests have been convicted of sexual abuse , in individual cases , most recently in 2010 , the spokesman said . But this latest case caught the attention of the Vatican and the Pope , thanks to a man , reportedly now 24 , who wrote to the Vatican to say he was sexually abused when he was underage by church figures in Granada . The Spanish online journal Religion Digital published what it said was a conversation between Pope Francis and the alleged victim from August 10 , with the Pope asking for forgiveness in the name of the church . The alleged victim was cited with a fictitious name , Daniel , Religion Digital reported , adding that 12 people , 10 of them priests , were under investigation . The Pope has called for `` zero tolerance '' of sexual abuse by clerics and has said Catholic bishops `` will be held accountable '' for failing to protect children from such abuse .
Police arrest Catholic priests and teacher in Granada , Spain , on suspicion of sex abuse . Spanish online journal : Pope phoned alleged victim , sought forgiveness for church . Arrests of three priests in a single day is biggest case of its kind in Spain , official says . Court in Granada set to hear initial charges within three days .