The New Age (www.thenewage.co.za)
10 October 2013
Abanto Guzman insisted that he is not the girl’s father, but the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church appeared to disagree. Picture: AFPThe bishop of Peru’s military ordinariate stepped down after a court ruling established he was the the father of a two-year-old girl.
The Vatican accepted his resignation, Juan Luis Cipriani, bishop of Lima, said Wednesday.
The court ruled after a legal complaint was filed by by the girl’s mother in June, claiming that Guillermo Abanto Guzman, 53, was the father of the child and demanding that he legally recognize his child.
Abanto Guzman insisted that he is not the girl’s father, but the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church appeared to disagree. Cipriani said the Vatican accepted his resignation on July 20.
“Everyone should deal with his weaknesses like a man, and know when to accept that he has made a mistake,” Cipriani said in a statement. “The church respects and will always respect civilian justice, ongoing court cases. There is zero tolerance with all these issues.”
Cipriani expressed his “solidarity” with all the people whose honour is at stake in the case, “particularly with that innocent girl who must be recognized by her father.”
Last month, Peruvian authorities launched an investigation into the actions of Gabino Miranda, the deputy bishop of the Ayacucho diocese in Peru, over a case of alleged paedophilia. By then, he had been removed from his position and expelled from priesthood by the Vatican.
-Sapa-dpa