CHILE
Santiago Times
Tuesday, 09 October 2012
Written by Emily Green
On recommendations of Vatican representative, Órdenes sends official resignation.
Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Chilean Bishop Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández Tuesday, according to the Apostolic Nunciature in Chile. Pablo Lizama Riquelme, Archbishop of Antofagasta, has been appointed Apostolic Administrator in the northern city of Iquique, where Órdenes served, and will take up all responsibilities until a new bishop is appointed.
“My decision to leave the bishopric of Iquique was not painless,” Órdenes told local press. “I have made the decision so it will affect me and not affect the rest of the community.”
The first Chilean bishop to ever be investigated by the Vatican, Órdenes’s resignation comes after being investigated for allegations of sexual abuse to a minor brought forth in 2008. Órdenes, 47, was also the youngest bishop to be ordained in Chile.
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