ARGENTINA
Leading the Charge
Staff and agencies
22 August, 2005
By Kevin Gray 45 minutes ago
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A prominent Argentine Roman Catholic bishop has resigned amid media reports that he was involved sexually with a young man, the latest in a series of such scandals involving church officials.
The Argentine Episcopal Conference, the governing body of the church in this predominantly Catholic country, said Juan Carlos Maccarone, 64, bishop in the northwestern province of Santiago del Estero, had stepped down.
La Nacion and Clarin newspapers said Maccarone had resigned because of a sexual relationship with a 23-year-old man which had been captured on videotape.
Clarin said Maccarone asked his closest collaborators to forgive him "for damage inflicted on the Church."
In 2002, Argentine courts opened an investigation of a leading priest on charges of sexual abuse of minors after a book linked him with several cases. Archbishop Edgardo Gabriel Storni denied the charges, but the investigation continues.