Prosecutors said Friday they are investigating a Spanish archbishop for possible criminal hate speech because of remarks he made recently about the gay community.

The Valencia’s provincial prosecutor’s office said it was studying a recent speech made by Valencia Archbishop Antonio Canizares in which he said “powers such as the gay empire” promoted the rise of movements against the Christian family.

Canizares also hit out at feminists and gender ideology.

The remarks raised much criticism and a regional LGBT group and 50 other groups filed a complaint. MORE