{"id":2500642,"date":"2025-10-19T10:01:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T14:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alert-spanish-priest-facing-years-in-prison-for-comment-that-offended-muslims\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T10:01:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T14:01:50","slug":"alert-spanish-priest-facing-years-in-prison-for-comment-that-offended-muslims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alert-spanish-priest-facing-years-in-prison-for-comment-that-offended-muslims\/","title":{"rendered":"Alert: Spanish Priest Facing Years in Prison for Comment That Offended Muslims"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Falert-spanish-priest-facing-years-in-prison-for-comment-that-offended-muslims%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2500642&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the article discusses the case of Father Custodio Ballester, a Spanish Catholic priest facing up to three years in prison on charges of Islamophobia. The charges stem from remarks he made in 2016-2017, in which he expressed skepticism about the possibility of interfaith dialog between Christians and Muslims, stating that Islam does not allow for dialogue and viewing non-believers as those who must be subdued. These statements provoked a complaint from the Association of Spanish Muslims Against Islamophobia, leading to a trial held in October 2025. Ballester&#8217;s case has drawn attention to issues of freedom of speech and religious expression in Spain. He plans to appeal to the European Court of Human rights if convicted, emphasizing that the case has broader implications for the survival of free speech.Despite the potential penalties, Ballester remains calm, citing his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eu-to-blacklist-firms-involved-with-transporting-migrants-to-belarus\/\" title=\"EU to \u2018Blacklist\u2019 Firms Involved with Transporting Migrants to Belarus\">military background<\/a> and stressing the importance of defending freedom of expression.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>If you pay any attention to American ideological discourse, you&rsquo;ve no doubt heard the one about &ldquo;Christian nationalism.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s this bogeyman idea that Christians are trying to take over the world politically, culturally, and spiritually (as if that&rsquo;s a bad thing).<\/p>\n<p>For anyone paying attention to the world, however, you&rsquo;re no doubt aware of just how perilous &mdash; and powerless &mdash; life is for Christians outside of America&rsquo;s protection.<\/p>\n<p>Father Custodio Ballester, a Catholic priest in Spain, is facing the possibility of very <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >real prison time<\/a> on charges of &ldquo;Islamaphobia,&rdquo; according to a harrowing report from <a href=\"https:\/\/cbn.com\/news\/world\/catholic-priest-spain-facing-prison-time-criticizing-islam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Christian Broadcasting Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can view the outlet&rsquo;s most recent coverage on the issue below:<\/p>\n<p>  <script> console.log(\"A\/B Test Video Player\"); \/\/ Helper function to set a cookie function setVideoCookie(name, value, days) {     var expires=\"\";     if (days) {         var date=new Date();         date.setTime(date.getTime() + (days*24*60*60*1000));         expires=\"; expires=\" + date.toUTCString();     }     document.cookie=name + \"=\" + (value || \"\")  + expires + \"; path=\/\"; }  \/\/ Helper function to get a cookie function getVideoCookie(name) {     var nameEQ=name + \"=\";     var ca=document.cookie.split(';');     for(var i=0; i <ca.length; i++) {         var c=ca[i];         while (c.charAt(0)==' ') c=c.substring(1,c.length);         if (c.indexOf(nameEQ)==0) return c.substring(nameEQ.length,c.length);     }     return null; }  \/\/ Function to determine or retrieve the split test group function assignSplitTestGroup() {     var group=getVideoCookie('splitTestGroup');     if (group===null) {         var rand=Math.random();         if (rand <1\/3) {             group='A';         } else if (rand <2\/3) {             group='B';         } else {             group='C';         }         setVideoCookie('splitTestGroup', group, 1); \/\/ Sets a cookie for 1 day     }     return group; }  \/\/ aditude function aditudePlayer() {     playerBottom=5;     if (window.innerWidth <=768) {         playerBottom=100;     }     console.log(\"Loading Aditude video player\");     window.tude=window.tude || { cmd: [] };     window.tude.cmd.push(function() {         tude.requestOutstreamAd({             divId: \"videoPlayer\",             baseDivId: \"pb-slot-outstream\",             playerOptions: {                 dock: true,                 dockedPosition: \"bottom-right\",                 dockedOffset: {                     bottom: playerBottom,                     right: 5,                 },             }         }); 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             \/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element             let targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);              if (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) {                 console.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\");                 return null;             }              return paragraphs[targetIndex - x];         }          \/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver         function observeElement(element) {             if (!element) return;              const observer=new IntersectionObserver(                 (entries)=> {                     entries.forEach(entry=> {                         if (entry.isIntersecting) {                             console.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim());                             loadAnyclip();                             observer.disconnect();                         }                     });                 },                 { threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed             );              observer.observe(element);         }          \/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #videoPlayer and observe it         let paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#videoPlayer\", 2);         observeElement(paragraphToObserve);     }); }  \/\/ stn function stnPlayer() {     \/\/ may want to pass in         document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {         function loadScript(src) {             const script=document.createElement(\"script\");             script.src=src;             script.async=true;             document.body.appendChild(script);         }         function findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) {             const targetElement=document.querySelector(selector);             if (!targetElement) {                 console.warn(\"Target element not found.\");                 return null;             }              \/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document             let paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));              \/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element             let targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);              if (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) {                 console.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\");                 return null;             }              return paragraphs[targetIndex - x];         }          \/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver         function observeElement(element) {             if (!element) return;              const observer=new IntersectionObserver(                 (entries)=> {                     entries.forEach(entry=> {                         if (entry.isIntersecting) {                             console.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim());                             loadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\");                             observer.disconnect();                         }                     });                 },                 { threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed             );              observer.observe(element);         }          \/\/ Add custom styles for STN player         const style=document.createElement('style');         style.textContent=`         #videoPlayer {             min-height: 460px;             margin-bottom: 10px;         }         @media only screen and (max-width: 780px) {             #videoPlayer {                 min-height: 200px;             }         }         `;         document.head.appendChild(style);          \/\/ Add needed div for STN player         const stnDiv=document.createElement(\"div\");         \/\/ add data-stn-player attribute         stnDiv.setAttribute(\"data-stn-player\", \"s28Az7AY\");         document.getElementById(\"videoPlayer\").appendChild(stnDiv);           \/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #videoPlayer and observe it         let paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#videoPlayer\", 2);         observeElement(paragraphToObserve);     }); }  \/\/ Assign user to a group window.adUserGroup=assignSplitTestGroup(); let isSubbed=getCookie( 'ff_subbed' );  \/\/ Example usage if (isSubbed) {     console.log('User is subscribed, not running a player'); } else if (window.adUserGroup==='A') {     console.log('Running Aditude player for group A');     aditudePlayer(); } else if (window.adUserGroup==='B') {     console.log('Running Anyclip player for group B');     anyclipPlayer(); } else {     console.log('Running STN player for group C');     stnPlayer(); } <\/script> <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5iySemLhP_I?si=IUs-bfPPLg0raDt_\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ballester is facing up to three years in prison for this charge, as well as fines.<\/p>\n<p>The big crime? Answering a question about the possibility of an interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims.<\/p>\n<p>(It can&rsquo;t be stressed enough that this happened in 2016, nearly a full decade ago.)<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This renewed revival of Christian-Muslim dialogue, paralyzed by the alleged &lsquo;imprudence&rsquo; of the beloved Benedict XVI, is far from a reality,&rdquo; Ballester wrote in a letter, responding to the question. &ldquo;Islam does not allow for dialogue. You either believe or you are an infidel who must be subdued one way or another.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Christian Broadcasting Network added: &ldquo;In a 2017 YouTube video, Ballester expanded on his 2016 remarks, warning that Islam not only poses a threat in Europe, but also that in many Muslim-majority countries, Christians face persecution.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rote &mdash; and fairly accurate &mdash; description of Islamic culture, Ballester incensed the Association of Spanish Muslims Against Islamophobia.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Father Custodio Ballester, a 61-year-old Spanish Catholic priest, appeared in court today, facing a possible three<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-please-pardon-jon-woods-a-victim-of-process-crimes-like-michael-flynn\/\" title=\"President Trump, Please Pardon Jon Woods, a Victim of Process Crimes Like Michael Flynn\">-year prison sentence<\/a> for his criticism of radical jihadism, having been accused of Islamophobia.<\/p>\n<p>Info: El Mundo <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ex5nHEoemr\">pic.twitter.com\/ex5nHEoemr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sachinettiyil\/status\/1973521516102033770?\">October 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The association responded to those remarks before filing a complaint that would ultimately lead to charges against Ballester, a fellow priest, and a journalist.<\/p>\n<p>A trial was held Oct. 1 (again &hellip; he made these remarks in 2016-2017), and Ballester is currently awaiting a verdict. If he does face those potential three years in prison, he has already said he plans on appealing this with the European Court of Human Rights.<\/p>\n<p>For Ballester, this struggle is about far more than himself.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The survival of freedom of expression in today&rsquo;s Spain depends on the ruling in this case,&rdquo; Ballester told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/266961\/freedom-of-speech-religion-in-play-as-spanish-priest-is-prosecuted-for-denouncing-radical-islam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Catholic News Agency<\/a>. &ldquo;Otherwise, we&rsquo;ll be headed toward a new Cuban dictatorship. One where you were arrested for what you said as well as for what you thought, if it differed from what [Cuban communist dictator] Fidel Castro decided.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic outlet also noted that &mdash; due in no small part to his military background &mdash; Ballester is demonstrating a remarkable calm about this monumental case.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the Spanish army&rsquo;s special forces, we used to say: &lsquo;Prepare for the worst. The easy stuff has already been planned for,&rsquo;&rdquo; he told the Catholic News Agency. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m calm. If everything goes well, I&rsquo;ll be even happier.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you follow American ideological discussions, you&#8217;ve likely encountered the concept of &#8220;Christian nationalism.&#8221; This is often portrayed as a fearsome notion that Christians aim to dominate politically, culturally, and spiritually (as if that were negative). However, anyone observing global events knows how dangerous-and powerless-Christians can be outside the protection of the United States<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2500643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Priest-faces-Prison.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32779,65482,65481],"class_list":["post-2500642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-legal-issues","tag-religious-controversy","tag-spanish-priest"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Priest-faces-Prison.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2500642"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2500646,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500642\/revisions\/2500646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2500643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2500642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2500642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2500642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}