The Archbishop of Rabat, a Spanish cardinal, said Tuesday that he would be stepping back from public ministry while a Church investigation takes place into allegations of inappropriate behavior towards adult women.

Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, 74, and a member of the Salesian order, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday that he would step away after AFP revealed that at least five women had accused him of sexual assault. The news agency said it had seen complaints sent to the Vatican embassy in Morocco.

On Wednesday, the archdiocese of Rabat also released a statement in Romero’s name.

“I am accused of inappropriate behavior towards adult women. This situation has led the Church to open a preliminary investigation. This investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the Roman Catholic Church, with which I am cooperating,” the statement said.

“During this period of investigation, so as not to hinder it, I will take a step back, not presiding over any public celebration, and not intervening in any pastoral activity, and you will understand,” it added.

One woman made a written complaint to the Vatican embassy in May, which AFP said it had seen, in which she accused him of “particularly insistent and prolonged hugs” and “an attempt at physical intimacy that could be likened to an attempt” to kiss her, which she said she “barely managed” to avoid.

A source within the archdiocese said that at least five similar reports had been made.

In a written reply to AFP, Romero said that he had been “accused of inappropriate behavior towards adult women. This situation has led the Church to open a preliminary investigation.”

“I have committed neither assault nor violence nor sexual harassment,” he added.

However, the source told AFP that “close associates” of Romero reported similar behavior when he was a missionary in South America.

The source also criticized a “culture of complicity and silence” among those close to the cardinal and accused them of helping him.

No criminal complaint has been filed yet in Morocco, but the courts there impose strict sentences in similar crimes when carried out by a person in authority.

Further, sexual activity outside of marriage is illegal in the North African country, although in practice it is not enforced against foreigners.

Because Romero is a member of the College of Cardinals, the preliminary investigation falls to the Holy See and must be concluded within 90 days.

A former “papabile”

Romero had a reputation for being a “street priest” and later became the leader of the Salesians in Bolivia, Paraguay and Spain.

Following the death of Pope Francis last year, Romero was widely regarded as one of the “papabile” and a potential successor to the Argentine.

“Latin Americans tend to see him as one of their own, but he also has strong relationships with many African bishops, who, among other things, appreciate his pastoral care of migrants from their countries who arrive in Morocco trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe,” the late John L. Allen Jr. said in Crux Now last year.

However, four days before last year’s conclave, Romero said he had “absolutely no ambition” to be pope and would “flee to Sicily” if elected.