Pope Francis Removes Bishop Accused Of Protecting Priest Suspected Of Sexually Abusing Young People

Pope Francis has removed a Paraguayan bishop accused of protecting a priest suspected of sexually abusing young people, the Vatican said on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

A statement said the pope had removed Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano from his post as head of the diocese of Ciudad del Este and named another bishop to run it as an administrator for the time being, the AP reported.

The sacking followed a Vatican investigation of the bishop, the diocese and its seminaries, said the statement, which gave no details, according to the AP.

Vatican sources said the bishop had refused to resign after the investigation and reports of irregularities in his diocese and clashes between the conservative Livieres Plano and other bishops in the country, the AP reported.

The Argentinian-born pontiff has vowed zero tolerance of clerics who abuse minors, after church scandals in several countries over many years, according to the AP.

Last May, Francis called such abuse an "ugly crime" and likened it to "a Satanic mass," the AP reported.

The Ciudad del Este diocese said in a statement that accusations that Livieres Plano lacked unity with the other bishops of Paraguay were "unfounded" but that he would obey the pope's order, according to the AP.

The diocese's statement did not mention the allegations that he had protected the priest accused of sexual abuse, the AP reported.

The Vatican's ambassador in Paraguay, Archbishop Eliseo Ariotti, told reporters in the capital Asuncion it would be up to the new administrator of the diocese to make decisions regarding the priest accused of sexual abuse, according to the AP.

Ariotti said that as part of the disciplinary procedure against Livieres Plano, the bishop would not be allowed to say mass in public but only in private, the AP reported.

According to reports in Catholic media while the Vatican investigation was in progress, Livieres Plano had promoted a priest accused of sexual abuse while serving in the United States, the AP reported.

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