Questions raised about financial dealings in Paraguay diocese whose bishop was removed
June 29, 2015
An Associated Press report has uncovered financial irregularities in a diocese in Paraguay whose bishop was ousted by the Vatican last year.
Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano was removed from his post at the head the Diocese of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, in September 2014. At the time, the Vatican press office said that the bishop was relieved of duty because of his discordant relations with the other bishops of Paraguay. Most observers had agreed, however, that the case pivoted on the bishop’s decision to promote Father Carlos Urrutigoity, a priest who had been characterized by a US diocese (Scranton, Pennsylvania) as a danger to children.
Now an AP report finds that the Ciudad del Este diocese is $800,000 in debt, noting that this is “a considerable sum in one of South America's poorest countries.” The report finds several instances of question financial transactions, including the sale of two parcels of property, for a combined total of over $600,000, without the required approval from the Vatican.
In 2010, a local layman filed suit against the diocese, charging that $350,000 donated for a project to help needy children had been illegally diverted. Although the lawsuit was dismissed on technical grounds, the comptroller general of Paraguay support the charges against the diocese and found “weak and deficient conduct of the diocese in accounting.”
Bishop Livieres Plano, who is currently hospitalized for treatment of diabetes, did not comment on the AP report, but has denied all wrongdoing. His successor in Cuidad del Este, Bishop Guillermo Steckling, acknowledged that he had discovered “several accounting irregularities” but said that the diocese needs reconciliation rather than a further airing of disputes.
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Further information:
- Paraguayan bishop ousted by pope scrutinized for spending (AP)
- Paraguayan bishop’s ‘very violent’ reaction helps explain removal, says papal spokesman (CWN, 9/29/14)
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