Pope accepts Argentine bishop's resignation over sex scandal
The Vatican has accepted the resignation of an Argentine bishop who was caught cavorting with a woman on a beach, in the latest of a string of sex scandals to hit the Catholic Church.
Bishop Fernando Bargallo, 57, was forced to hand in his resignation after photographs emerged this month showing him frolicking and embracing a blonde, bikini-clad woman at a luxury resort in Mexico.
Bargallo, who led the diocese of Merlo-Moreno outside Buenos Aires since May 1997, has reportedly admitted to having "amorous ties" with the woman he is seen embracing in the water, thought to be a divorced restaurant owner.
He had initially claimed she was just a longtime friend.
The news broke as the Vatican ousted the founder of an Italian misson for "serious immoral behaviour," after it emerged he had sex with female missionaries during a posting in South America.
Luigi Prandin, who founded the Villaregia Missionary Community, was ousted along with co-founder, Maria Luigia Corona, who knew of the liaisons but covered it up because she feared a scandal.
The scandals have raised fresh calls for priests to be allowed to marry.
Pope Benedict XVI has vigorously denied claims that abstention may have contributed to sex abuse scandals, insisting repeatedly that celibacy is central to the priesthood.
In April, he issued a rare condemnation of errant priests, slamming in particular an "appeal to religious disobedience" launched by a group of Austrian clerics in 2011, which argued for an end to priestly celibacy.
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M Cassar
Jun 26th 2012, 19:54
Well, the boat that is 'celibacy is central to the priesthood', has sailed some time ago, namely when married protestant priests were allowed to become roman catholic priests and still remain married men with a family of their own. I am sure that they can do just as good a job as the celibate priests who, it seems to me are being penalized for consitently being roman catholic.
The fixation that sex is bad seems to be central to this argument and all those who are middle aged now remember the attitude towards sex in our childhood. But now it has become sex; no way, erm unless it is to win over some priests from the opposition! Funny how this married catholic priests issue was hush hushed in the local press and media......one would have expected that it would have made it to the highlights....funny indeed (for want of a more explicit word).
M Mallia
Jun 26th 2012, 17:00
Meh. at least he expressed the inherent natural sexuality of the homo sapiens in a socially and morally acceptable way...
Franco Farrugia
Jun 26th 2012, 16:52
Actually, I thought the 'scandal' was much more serious that it appears to be. Fine, that bishop is a fool to have been doing things like that out there in the open - silly man. He knows the rules. But hey, it's no great 'scandal'!
David Caruana
Jun 26th 2012, 15:51
A man enjoying a woman's company is no scandal.
I would consider this to be a scandal only if instead of a woman it was a child.
Kurt Waschnig
Jun 26th 2012, 15:44
I am of the opinion the most terrible scandal the Church is facing is clerical child abuse and the cover up for decades.
Clerical child abuse destroyed the credibility of the Church and I am sure the Church will never be able to win back credibility and trust.
But the Church tried everything to cover up the monstrous crimes committed by catholic priests.
That means the Church protected priests instead defenceless children.
It happened on a regular basis that priests were removed from parishes because they abused and raped children and were sent to another parish and committed the same crimes again.
Clerical child abuse and the cover up for decades are both terrible crimes.
And now I learn that the Vatican has accepted the resignation of an Argentine bishop who was caught cavorting with a woman on a beach.
Bishop Fernando Bargallo was forced to hand in resignation after photographs emerged this month showing him frolicking and embracing a blonde, bikini-clad woman at a luxury resort in Mexico.
In my point of view that is not a scandal. The bishop had a relationship with a woman. He was frolicking and embracing the woman.
That is very natural and both enjoyed it, I am sure, a lot.
Even more and more Catholic priests raise their voice in public and demand that priests could get married.
The number of Catholic priests who demand reforms within the Church has increased a lot.
They demand a renewal and reforms and the right to decide by themselves to marry or not.
Their demands are legitimate and lot of believers support them.
Those priests are not disobedient, they see the decline of the Church. They wish that the message of the Gospel – dignity, joy, happiness, love, mutual understanding, respect and tolerance, looking after the needy reaches out to human beings.
This wonderful message gives a meaning of life.
But what did the Pope?
The Pope issued a rare condemnation of errant priests, slamming in particular an "appeal to religious disobedience" launched by a group of Austrian clerics in 2011, which argued for an end to priestly celibacy.
A condemnation will not work and therefore reforms and a renewal within the Church will not take place.
Without democratic structures and the participation of believers including granting women the same rights within the Church, reforms and a renewal will be forever a dream.
Best regards
Kurt Waschnig Oldenburg Germany
e-mail: [email protected]
Joseph M. Grech.
Jun 26th 2012, 18:52
Mr Waschnig first of all I would like to tell you that I am of the same opinion regarding clerical abuse, it's shameful and I also am of the opinion that the Church has been severely wounded. However I don't agree with you when you say that credibility has been destroyed. This comes from the fact that generally speaking people still trust priests first and foremost.
Besides, one has to be careful in his arguments. Recent surveys have shown that sexual child abuse in families by fathers and sometimes mothers is very, very high in the USA. Most probably it is high even in other countries. So, does this mean that the family has lost credibility? Sexual abuse has been discovered also among doctors, lawyers, psychologists etc. etc. Does this mean that people have lost credibility in them as well?
I also disagree with you about removing priest celibacy in order to reduce the risk of sexual abuse. Are all married men always faithful to their wives? Do married men, to put it crudely, satisfy themselves with having sex with just one woman? The answer obviously is a big no. They still have to exercise restraint and control themselves if not more than celibate people.
However the real reason that the Church disapproves of married priests is not something against sex but it wants them to be free from the responsibilities of marriage. The Church wants their ministry to come first and foremost before family obligations. It doesn't want their families, if married, to suffer.
Participation of believers can be always improved but I think it has never been so good.
As for the Church being democratic I don't think it can be fully democratic. Even so-called democratic governments are not fully democratic. Imagine what would they say if someone insists on a referendum to remove income tax or vat. The same applies to certain principles and structures that the Church owes to the Bible, tradition and dogma.
If you go through the history of the Church there have been dark times for it but the truth of Jesus Christ has always prevailed in the end after the storm.
Elvin Muscat
Jun 26th 2012, 14:47
Unfortunately this obstenism will eventually lead to nobody willing to take up the vocation of priesthood. This was a 15th century idea to stop priests and Cardinals from having children and eventually climbing the ladder of promotions in the Church. Its a choice, if you want more priests, relax the rules or fizzle out gracefully.
Please choose the reason of your report below: