Argentine bishop resigns after compromising photos broadcast
June 26, 2012
The Vatican has announced the resignation of an Argentine bishop who was caught in compromising photos with an attractive young woman.
Bishop Fernando Maria Bargallo of Merlo-Moreno resigned at the age of 57, a week after an Argentine television broadcast had shown him arm-in-arm with a woman while vacationing at a Mexican beach. The bishop has claimed that the woman was a “childhood friend,” but acknowledged that the photos allowed for “misinterpretations.”
A brief Vatican announcement said that Bishop Bargallo had resigned “in accordance with canon 401(2) of the Code of Canon Law. That canon allows for the early resignation of a bishop who becomes unsuited for office because of illness “or other grave reason.”
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto, the retired head of the San Isidro diocese, to serve as apostolic administrator of Merlo-Moreno until a new bishop is appointed.
Bishop Bargallo had also been serving as president of the Caritas charitable network in Latin America.
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Further information:
- Argentine bishop seen frolicking with woman quits (AP)
- Other Pontifical Acts (VIS)
- Argentine bishop apologizes following publication of compromising photos (CWN, 6/21)
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