ROME
Crux
By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent August 15, 2015
ROME — A conservative Latin American bishop fired by Pope Francis last September, who once claimed he was the victim of “ideological persecution” but later moved to reconcile with the pontiff, died Friday at the age of 69.
Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano, a native Argentinian, died in Buenos Aires from complications related to diabetes. He had been the bishop of Ciudad del Estes in Paraguay before his removal on Sept. 25, 2014.
Before his death, Livieres reached out to the pope.
Last July, while meeting local bishops during his trip to Paraguay, Francis read a letter Livieres had written to the pontiff. In it, the bishop expressed his gratitude to the pope and his “full communion” with Rome.
According to a Vatican statement in September 2014, Francis removed Livieres from his post for unspecified “serious pastoral reasons” and “the greater good of preserving the unity of the local Church.”
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