Francis' Darling in La Plata Resigns after less than a Year (Update)
In La Plata, an important archdiocese only 60 km from Buenos Aires, Mgr Mestre succeeded Tucho Fernández, whom Francis appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for the Destruction of the Faith.
No further details were given by the Vatican, but a scandal is looming in the background.
In 2017, Francis made Gabriel Mestre, then 48, a bishop and appointed him to Mar de Plata, a city in Argentina 400km south of Buenos Aires. Mestre succeeded Monsignor Antonio Marino whom Francis removed at the age of 75 because Marino was a good scholar and a dedicated pastor.
Two (!) bishops of Mar del Plata appointed by Francis after Mestre's departure for La Plata in 2023 resigned before being installed.
Mestre has made a name for himself in Mar de Plata as a topless promoter of tourism and heresy, as a persecutor of Catholics and, of course, as a promoter of homosexual sins.
As a result, after less than six years, Bergoglio promoted him to La Plata (900.00 Catholics; 120 priests). On this occasion, Caminante-Wanderer.Blogspot.com wrote that Mestre was not only mediocre, but also someone who publicly and clearly denied the teachings of the Church. The blog called him a schismatic bishop.
In a radio interview and another with a newspaper, Mestre denied that one needs to be in a state of grace to receive Holy Communion, denied that homosexual acts are a grave sin against the sixth commandment, and said that he had confirmed two men who dressed as "women".
According to LaNacion.com.ar (27 May), Francis summoned his darling Mestre to Rome to discuss problems in his former diocese of Mar del Plata, and on that occasion asked him to resign as Archbishop of La Plata. Mestre confirmed this in his farewell letter, published this Monday 27 May, without giving further details.
He only added the 'pious' words: "With deep peace and in total righteousness of conscience before God for what I have done, trusting that the truth will set us free, and in filial and theological (sic) obedience to the Holy Father, I immediately wrote my resignation, which was accepted and made public today".
The chaotic situation in the world episcopate is entirely the fault of Francis, who is resistant to advice and often single-handedly appoints bishops like a dictator, without serious investigation and despite warnings from advisers, especially in Argentina.
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