Pope Francis Removes Bishop in Paraguay

By Liam Moloney
Wall Street Journal
September 25, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/articles/pope-francis-removes-bishop-in-paraguay-linked-to-child-abuse-1411671492

Pope Francis has removed a senior bishop in Paraguay in the wake of criticism that he promoted a priest accused of child abuse and established seminaries that the Vatican considered not adequately managed, creating strife with other bishops in the Latin American country.

The Vatican on Thursday removed Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano as head of the Ciudad del Este diocese for what the Holy See described in a statement as "serious pastoral concerns."

The bishop has come under public criticism for his treatment of a priest who previously served in a diocese in Scranton, Pa. In an open letter published in March, church officials in Scranton said the priest posed "a serious threat to young people," and said it had objected to Bishop Livieres's decision to promote the prelate to a senior position in the Ciudad del Este diocese in Paraguay. The diocese said that its previous bishop had expressed its "serious concerns" about the priest to the Holy See's nuncio to Paraguay as well as the nuncio to the U.S.

Rev. David Sanchez, a spokesman for the Ciudad del Este diocese, said the allegations are baseless. "The bishop conducted very thorough research [into the priest] and didn't find anything improper," he said.

The bishop had also established a seminary that a Vatican investigation found faults, which weren't identified.

Rev. Ciro Benedettini, deputy head of the Vatican press office, said issues concerning the priest were part of the reason for his removal. However, the main motive, said Rev. Benedettini, was to end the infighting among Paraguayan bishops over the training of priests and the degree of autonomy the seminaries set up by Bishop Livieres had which allowed for a larger-than-normal ordination of priests.