CNA Staff, Jul 23, 2025 /
17:43 pm
A popular Catholic influencer has been barred from public events in his local Church amid investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Bishop Artur Bubnevych of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix issued a statement prohibiting Catholic personality Alex Jurado — who runs the social media ministry Voice of Reason — from public events while he is under investigation for allegations of sexually grooming an underage teenage girl when he was 21 years old.
CNA first reported on the allegations against Jurado on July 15. The Protestant website Protestia published a report alleging that “whistleblowers within the Catholic community” had revealed sexually explicit texts Jurado allegedly sent to a girl possibly as young as 14 years old when he himself was 21.
The popular Catholic apologist has sharply denied allegations. The influencer said in a statement on his Instagram page that the claims were untrue and that he is “voluntarily cooperating in an investigation that will allow the truth to come to light.”
“[T]he accusation that I was having an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl is a complete fabrication,” he said.
He added that he is “prepared to undergo legal action against those who have defamed me,” describing the allegations as an “awful and vicious rumor.”
On July 16, meanwhile, Bubnevych issued a statement to the clergy of his eparchy stating that Jurado, “a regular attendee at one of our parishes,” is prohibited from “any activity or involvement … occurring in any facilities of or events being sponsored by the Eparchy of Phoenix until further notice.”
“We will cooperate fully with any authorized investigations which may occur in this matter,” the bishop wrote in his statement, a copy of which was obtained by CNA.
“We wish also to stress that our Safe Environment policies, which address the safeguarding and dignity of all persons, are taken most seriously and, with that in mind, I believe the action being taken is therefore warranted,” the bishop said.
Amid the controversy, Catholic Answers, an apologetics nonprofit that produces the Catholic Answers Live radio show, removed a page featuring Jurado from its website.
Jon Sorensen, chief operating officer at Catholic Answers, told CNA in an email that Jurado “has never been a staff member of Catholic Answers. He was an occasional guest on our radio program, ‘Catholic Answers Live,’ and, like all our radio guests, he had a profile page on Catholic.com.”
He added: “In light of the recent serious allegations about Alex, we have removed this profile from Catholic.com. We pray that the full truth may come to light, we pray for Alex, and we pray for everyone who may have been victimized, scandalized, or disedified by these reported events.”
Jurado has not responded to queries from CNA regarding the controversy.
Francesca is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency. She received her degree in Communications with an emphasis in Digital Media from the University of Colorado – Denver. She is also in charge of the social media for Catholic News Agency.
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