Farewell to the plaques on the Alicante avenue dedicated to Father Ángel Escapa

The Alicante City Council has swiftly removed the plaques from the avenue dedicated to Father Ángel Escapa. The government team will rename the road this Tuesday at the local government meeting. Authorities ordered the removal of the signs designating the road early in the morning to enforce the decision made over the weekend after two cases of sexual abuse against students at the Agustinos school in the late 1970s were confirmed, directly implicating the religious figure.

The incidents have been acknowledged by the Augustinian community itself, although there is no judicial conviction as they are time-barred. The municipal government will announce the new name of the avenue this Tuesday, a procedure that, according to the mayor, Luis Barcala, is being processed "expeditiously."

The mayor announced this past Saturday, through a statement, the removal of Escapa's name as he "did not demonstrate, through his conduct, to be deserving of this recognition, which is incompatible in this case with socially reprehensible and alarming behaviors such as sexual abuse."

The news caused significant shock in Alicante society as it emerged this past Saturday. In response to the social alarm, the Alicante City Council immediately agreed to remove the name from the street named after Father Ángel Escapa, a measure made public around 2 p.m. The avenue is located in the La Albufereta area.

"We have waited prudently for the explicit acknowledgment of the facts by the Augustinian community, as there had been no conviction for sexual abuse," explained the mayor of Alicante this Saturday. Barcala states that "once the sexual abuses were acknowledged, there was no alternative but to remove from the Alicante street map someone who, through their conduct and behavior, has not demonstrated to be deserving of this distinction."

"Without detracting from the merits that were once considered for the recognition of Ángel Escapa," added Barcala, "the conduct of those publicly recognized by the people of Alicante with a space or a street must remain impeccable in all respects, and that recognition is incompatible in this case with socially reprehensible and alarming behaviors such as sexual abuse," expressed the mayor.

Following this reflection, the mayor took the opportunity to also thank "the great work carried out" by the Augustinian order "for many years linked to the city of Alicante," as well as "their honesty in addressing such a painful and delicate matter, where it would never be fair to judge many by the conduct of a single person."

The decision by the Government team to remove Father Ángel Escapa's name from the street map was personally communicated this Saturday by Mayor Barcala to the management of the Agustinos School in Alicante.

Father Ángel Escapa, aged 81 and residing in Huelva, also holds a distinction from the Spanish Olympic Committee. Additionally, he currently collaborates as an "assistant" in rural parishes in the province of Huelva.