Francis has accepted the resignation of his friend Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, 80, as Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The successor is Father José Vicente Náchter Tatay, 58, a parish priest and regional superior of the Vincentians.
As with many of Francis' friends, Rodríguez's path has been paved with scandal. His long-time critic is Martha Alegria Reichmann, the widow of a former dean of the Vatican diplomatic corps.
She accused him of a “double life full of filth and falsehood” and blamed Rodríguez for financially defrauding her family.
Rodríguez is also suspected of having taken money from the Catholic University of Tegucigalpa.
For years, Rodríguez supported his former auxiliary bishop Juan Pineda, 61, an active homosexual. Homosexual seminarians stated that Maradiaga protected them. Francis always backed Rodríguez and his scandals.
Picture: Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, © wikicommons, CC BY-SA, #newsKaolkshppd