The small Oriental Republic of Uruguay has a long shared history with Argentina - and common events... A few years ago, "Progressive" Bishop Juan Carlos Maccarone was forced to resign after being blackmailed by a male lover. Now, a similar episode takes place across the Río de la Plata, with Bishop Francisco Barbosa, of the Diocese of Minas, as La Nación reports:
Local daily El Observador revealed the case that has no precedents in the Uruguayan Church, and that has led to commotion in the Catholic community of Minas, a city in the upland section of this country.Complaint.The sexual relationship of the priest with two convicts was discovered because the Bishop himself presented a complaint to the criminal courts when he felt harassed by his lovers, who were blackmailing him with the threat of making public the pictures of their encounters.Bishop Barbosa had met the former convicts when they requested assistance to the National Service for the Detained which, in the Department of Lavalleja [where the Diocese is located], is run by a priest.
El Observador notes tonight that Pope Benedict XVI was informed of the situation and will make a decision in the next few hours. Francisco Barbosa was named Bishop of Minas by Pope John Paul II, in 2004.
