Pope Francis taken the “difficult decision” to remove an ultra-conservative bishop in Paraguay who frequently clashed with his fellow bishops, and who had sheltered a priest accused of molesting seminarians in several countries.  It’s another sign that Francis is willing to use his authority to take on lingering problems in the Roman Catholic Church, and provides a look into the stodgy hierarchy that the Pope is shaking up.

A Vatican statement said the Pope took this action against Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano “for serious pastoral reasons and for the greater good of the unity of the Church in Ciudad del Este and the episcopal communion in Paraguay”.  It did not go into specifics, and apparently followed an investigation in July into the church’s troubles in Paraguay’s second largest city. 

Livieres is a member of the secretive society Opus Dei who had a history of dust-ups with more liberal clerics.  No sooner had he been promoted to bishop in 2004 that Livieres accused the Archbishop of Asuncion of being Gay.  He opened his own seminary to provide a conservative rival to the main seminary in the capital.  Livieres also meddled in politics, opposing the campaign of former priest Fernando Lugo who eventually became Paraguay’s president from 2008-2012.

More local disputes followed, and appear to be the main reason for Livieres’ sacking.  But his support for Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, which brought international condemnation, appears to be a component as well. 

Urrutigoity was accused of molesting sleeping seminarians in Argentina and Pennsylvania.  His former archdiocese settled a lawsuit over his actions for US$400,000, and that Bishop sent a warning to Livieres about Urrutigoity that not only went unheeded, but Livieres would promote the accused molester to his vicar-general.  Urrutigoity has since been removed from that position and there’s now a separate Vatican investigation into that case.

This came just two days after Pope Francis ordered the arrest of Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop and Vatican ambassador accused of sexually abusing boys while he served in the Dominican Republic.