Argentinian Bishop’s Conviction Spotlights Pope Francis’ Role in Case

The National Catholic Register ^ | 3/21/22 | Joan Frawley Desmond

[marshmallow]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The friendship between then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires and Father Gustavo Zanchetta took root during 2005-2011, when the future pope led the Argentinian Bishops’ Conference and the younger priest served as executive undersecretary of that body.

And after the election of the Church’s first Latin American pope in 2013, the strength of that bond was clear to all when Pope Francis, in one of his first episcopal appointments, named Father Zanchetta the new bishop of Orán in northern Argentina.

The announcement prompted protests in the bishop-elect’s former Diocese of Quilmes, where lay leaders accused him of mishandling financial matters. It would be the first of many such complaints against Bishop Zanchetta that appeared to fall on deaf ears. Media reports and comments from Francis himself have documented the close bond between the two men and the fact that the accused remained in ministry for five years after allegations of sexual and financial misconduct against him first came to the Pope’s notice in 2015.

Now, following a civil trial in Argentina that found Bishop Zanchetta guilty of aggravated sexual assault of two seminarians, the Pope’s striking level of past personal involvement with the accused has raised questions about his ability to apply the Catholic Church’s norms designed to address episcopal sexual misconduct, abuse of power and cover-ups in a consistent manner that will protect the most vulnerable and repair the Church’s damaged moral credibility.

When a Catholic shepherd appears to apply Church law in an inconsistent and subjective manner, warned Dominican Father Pius Pietrzyk, it “creates one set of norms for those who show personal loyalty or have a personal connection with the decision-maker and those who do not.”

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Father Pietrzyk, who teaches canon law at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at.........

[Jeff Chandler]

I almost posted my true feelings about this.

[Robwin]

the Pope’s striking level of past personal involvement with the accused has raised questions about his ability to apply the Catholic Church’s norms designed to address episcopal sexual misconduct... Sadly this guy's conduct is the Church's current norm on sexual misconduct.

[Falconspeed]

“the election of the Church’s first Latin American pope in 2013” is null and void. The 2013 election has numerous flaws that automatically cancel the result. Benedict XVI is still alive.

[ebb tide]

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