SAN RAFAEL (ARGENTINA)
The Pillar [Washington DC]
February 20, 2025
By Michelle La Rosa
[Photo above: Bishop Carlos María Domínguez. Credit: Diocese of San Rafael.]
The Diocese of San Rafael, Argentina released a Thursday statement acknowledging that an investigation is underway into allegations against Bishop Carlos María Domínguez, who resigned last week.
The statement, which was published soon after reports from The Pillar on the subject, also acknowledged that Dominguez’ resignation was caused by the allegations against him, while the bishop had said initially only that he resigned for “personal reasons.”
“The diocesan community is informed that on February 3 of this year, adults have reported to the competent authorities Bishop Carlos María Domínguez for improper actions inflicted against them, causing the effective resignation of the aforementioned bishop,” the diocese said in a Feb. 20 statement.
“Given the seriousness of the facts declared, an investigation has been initiated so that the corresponding canonical actions can be taken according to the protocols in force in the Church.”
The statement reiterated the diocese’s commitment to transparency and justice, as well as the privacy of the individuals who made the complaints against the bishop.
“We regret the wound and the pain that this causes in the people of God, we trust that the search for the truth will help a path of healing,” it said.
Domínguez, 59, announced his resignation on Feb. 13 after two years leading the Diocese of San Rafael.
“[F]or reasons of a personal nature, I have tendered my resignation,” he said, adding that he “sensed the perplexity this decision might cause in all of you. But, believe me, this decision causes deep pain to me.”
He asked for “forgiveness for the things I did wrong, for the things I did not do, and for the things I did not know how to do.”
Local media had reported that the actual reason for the bishop’s resignation was that he had been accused of sexually abusing three young adult men.
The Argentine Catholic website Caminante Wanderer, widely regarded as an insider in Argentine Church matters, wrote on Feb. 15 that Domínguez’s resignation was due to “a case of sexual abuse, namely, sexual acts without the free and valid consent of the victim, involving three young male adults. Also, one of the actions of Bishop Domínguez likely led to latae sententiae excommunication.”
Domínguez has also been accused of failing to respond adequately to at least one claim of sexual abuse and cover up in San Rafael.
The case involves the Institute of the Incarnate Word — the IVE — an Argentine-based religious order which in January was placed under the authority of a Vatican delegate, over concerns about its formation and governance practices, and its ongoing promotion of its founder, a priest found guilty of sexual abuse of young men.
In 2022, former IVE priest Luis María de la Calle alleged that he had been sexually abused by an IVE transitional deacon while studying as an IVE minor seminarian.
De la Calle said in his testimony that he had reported the abuse to Fr. Gabriel Zapata, then-provincial superior of IVE in Argentina, in 2005.
He said Zapata failed to follow the IVE reporting protocols that were in place at the time, and that Domínguez unjustly cleared Zapata in an investigation into potential coverup of abuse in 2022.
Domínguez is not the only Argentine bishop to resign well before the typical episcopal retirement age.
Recent years have seen a handful of other early resignations in Argentina, amid circumstances ranging from serious health issues to clashes with diocesan priests to claims of abuse of power.