Controversial Cardinal, Francis' Confidant, Announces Resignation

Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, a friend of Francis and President of the Council of Cardinals, announced on 14 April that he had celebrated his last Chrism Mass as Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, as he turns 80 in December.

His longtime critic, Martha Alegría Reichmann, regrets that Rodríguez will retire with impunity “after leading a double life full of filth and falsehood" (MarcoTossati.com, April 26).

She writes that Rodríguez covered up the homosexual scandals of his former auxiliary bishop Juan Pineda, 61, that he hid the Costa Rican priest Enrique Vásquez who was accused of abuses, and diverted million dollars of Church money to fraudulent investments.

Rodríguez supported Hondurian president Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) who was extradited to the USA in April to stand trial over drug trafficking. Reichmann claims despite Maradiaga’s age, that his resignation is a result of having lost Orlando as his accomplice and protector.

Picture: Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga © Mazur, CC BY-NC-SA, #newsGwbncrfcra