Former Francis rival steps down

Buenos Aires Herald
November 03, 2015

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/202233/former-francis-rival-steps-down

Zarate Bishop Sarlinga accused of corruption

In a surprise announcement, first made over weekend to a congregation in side Luján Cathedral, Oscar Sarlinga, the Bishop of Zárate-Campana in Buenos Aires province, has revealed he is resigning his post amid an internal Church investigation into embezzlement, corruption and “abuse of power” within the clergy.

Sarlinga, who has a long history of confrontations with Pope Francis, was appointed to his post by Pope Benedict.

“For several months, together with the chance of being available for my mission as Bishop of Zárate-Campana, I asked Pope Francis for a special time of leave, for me to devote time to prayer,” Sarlinga said, without suggesting specific reasons as to why he had decided to step down.

“I have to say in all fairness that in the subsequent dialogue with the Holy Father he has expressed his understanding and has accepted my request. It will be made effective in the coming days,” he added.

While Sarlinga declined to comment on what had prompted his resignation, the ecclesiastical investigation into allegations of malpractice in the Zárate-Campana parish, including money laundering and abuse within the clergy, was likely a central factor in determining his decision.

The investigation is ongoing and was launched by Francis (former Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires) one year ago, who appointed his successor in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Mario Poli, to lead the inquiry.

ALLEGED MALPRACTICE

According to sources inside the church, the investigation examined a number of specific instances of illegal activity in the Zárate-Campana parish, including “mismanagement of educational institutions ... a money laundering operation in San Pedro and San Pablo,” and “the diverting of subsidies for soup kitchens granted by the Ministry of Social Development.”

Also cited were reports of an alleged cover up and settlement regarding sexual abuse involving a priest within Sarlinga’s jurisdiction, and the resignation of at least one other member of the clergy in Zárate-Campana who reported ethical reasons for resigning her post.

Former suffragan Bishop for Cáritas (BA province) Silvana Bentacourt, who resigned during Sarlinga’s tenure in Zárate-Campana, told DyN she had taken the decision to stand down in order to “stay true to my principles without being complicit in indecent, immoral actions outside of the sacraments of our faith which began to live every day in my work environment situations.”

MASSA CONNECTION

The investigation has yet to publish its findings, but Sarlinga’s story also has a political angle.

Sarlinga was also under pressure within the church regarding his relationship with Pope Francis and the proximity of the Catholic Church to institutional politics in the country and the Buenos Aires province.

Sarlinga’s relationship with the Pope was soured in recent times by the disclosure of a potential plan discussed with Renewal Front leader and former Presidential candidate for the A New Alternative (UNA) dissident Peronist coalition Sergio Massa and businessman Jorge O’Reilly, who like Sarlinga is affiliated with conservative catholic group Opus Dei.

In 2008, when both Sarlinga and Pope Francis, then Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, were working for the church in their capacities as bishops in Buenos Aires province, Sarlinga, O’Reilly and Massa — then a member of the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner administration — discussed the possibility of arranging moving Bergoglio to a minor position in Rome, thus vacating his role as Archbishop of Buenos Aires province.

Bergoglio enjoyed a thorny relationship with the presidency at that time and Massa and O’Reilly hoped that by securing him a post in Vatican City below the papacy itself they could improve relations between the church and the Pink House, in the absence of Bergoglio, with Sarlinga’s help in Buenos Aires province.

Sarlinga later admitted his involvement in discussions surrounding this plan, though he insisted it was not his alone.

Indeed, the episode was attributed by many to Sergio Massa primarily, who unlike the majority of key Argentine politicians contesting the 2015 general elections did not meet Pope Francis directly or appear in photos with him during the campaign.

Bishop Sarlinga is close to Esteban Caselli — a former ambassador to the Holy See during the presidency of Carlos Menem (1989-1999) as well as a key adviser of the reported mafia-style mogul Alfredo Yabrán — and the influential Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former Vatican secretary of state.

Sarlinga hails from the most conservative wing of the catholic Church and has close ties to Opus Dei. He was born on May 20, 1963 and in 2003 at age 39 became the youngest bishop in the country.