Bishop Sacked for Promoting Abusive Priest from Scranton

By David Falchek
Citizens Voice
September 26, 2014

http://citizensvoice.com/news/bishop-sacked-for-promoting-abusive-priest-from-scranton-1.1760421

Pope Francis on Thursday removed a Paraguayan bishop who promoted a priest suspected of abusing children in the Diocese of Scranton.

In an unprecedented move, the Vatican sacked Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano, who accepted and promoted the Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity.

The reverend was formerly associated with a priestly order that operated St. Gregory’s Academy in Elmhurst and faced accusation of molesting male students there.

In 2002, a former St. Gregory’s student filed a federal suit against Monsignor Urrutigoity and another priest, claiming abuse.

That lawsuit was settled for a reported $380,000 in 2005.

While booted from the Diocese of Scranton by Bishop Joseph Martino, the Rev. Urrutigoity found a patron in conservative Bishop Livieres Plano, who in time promoted him to one of the highest positions in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este.

The Rev. Urrutigoity’s rise, coupled with outcry from advocates of abuse victims, prompted Bishop of Scranton Joseph Bambera to write a letter to the Vatican in March, urging the Holy See to address the “dire” issue while describing the Rev. Urrutigoity as “posing a serious threat to young people.”

Bishop Bambera declined comment Thursday through a diocesan spokesman.

The Vatican conducted an investigation in the Diocese of the Ciudad del Este in July and removed the Rev. Urrutigoity from his duties. When the bishop’s removal was announced, the Vatican did not make its findings public or offer a specific reason.

Bishop Livieres Plano was summoned to Rome this week to discuss his future, according to the Associated Press. Colleagues say he refused to resign as requested, leaving Francis with what the Vatican said was the “onerous” decision to remove him. The Vatican said in a statement Thursday that Pope Francis acted for the good of the church in the diocese and for the sake of unity among Paraguayan bishops.

The move was welcome news to Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, but the group accused the Vatican and Bishop Bambera in prepared statements of not doing enough and acting only after public outcry and controversy.

The removal of Bishop Livieres Plano, a member of the conservative Opus Dei movement, marks the second time Pope Francis has kicked out a conservative bishop for the sake of keeping peace among the faithful and unity among bishops, according to the AP. In March, he ousted the “bling bishop” of Limburg, Germany, whose $43 million new residence complex caused an uproar among the faithful.