VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
Lise Alves Catholic News Service | Jul. 6, 2016
Catholics in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraiba woke July 6 to find that Archbishop Aldo di Cillo Pagotto was stepping down after having his resignation accepted by Pope Francis.
The Vatican said the pope accepted his resignation in accordance with Canon 401.2 of the Code of Canon Law, which covers “ill health or some other grave cause.”
In a letter about his resignation, the archbishop said he always tried to give the best of himself and admitted he made mistakes.
“I gave shelter to priests and seminarians, in order to offer them new chances in life. Among those were some who were later suspected of committing serious derelictions. I made the mistake of being too trusting,” stated the letter.
Some of the priests taken in by Pagotto have been accused of pedophilia. In June, Pope Francis warned that bishops guilty of looking the other way or covering up child abuse by priests within their congregations could be removed from their duties.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.