Bishop Livieres: "Pope Francis Will Have to Answer before God for the Dismissal"
Eponymous Flower
Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, dismissed yesterday from his office by Pope Francis, sees himself as a victim of an intrigue, which he describes as "ideological persecution." In an open letter to the Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the bishop wrote that Pope Francis will have to answer for his decision before God. At the same time Bishop Livieres announced that he has as yet no knowledge of the contents of the investigation report of the Papal Visitor, Cardinal Santos Abril. As a "son of the Church," he added, he will abide by the arrangement of the Pope. The letter to Cardinal Ouellet was published by the Paraguayan daily ABC yesterday. The Vatican justified the resignation for "pastoral reasons" and the "unity of the bishops." Specific allegations against the bishop dismissed were not disclosed. The Bishop sees himself as a victim of an intrigue of the Paraguayan Bishops. Pope Francis arranged for an Apostolic Visitation in Livieres' diocese after he publicly accused the Archbishop of Asuncion of homosexuality and demanded his removal from office. The leading group of the Paraguayan Bishops makes no secret of their satisfaction with the dismissal of Bishop Livieres. Livieres was considered a militant defender of the orthodoxy. In almost every parish of his diocese the Holy Mass was celebrated in the Old Rite. His seminary altogether has many more seminarians than any other of the Paraguayan dioceses and about seven times as many seminarians as the much larger Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. With the statement that he is "a victim of ideological persecution," Bishop Livieres gave an indication of the reasons behind the sensational impeachment. Bishop Livieres like Pope Francis is from Argentina.
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