Peruvian Bishop Resigns Following Vatican Probe into S£xual Misconduct Allegations
Peruvian Bishop Resigns Following Vatican Probe into S£xual Misconduct Allegations – A Peruvian bishop has stepped down from his post following a Vatican-led investigation into allegations of s£xual misconduct and financial mismanagement.
The Vatican Press Office confirmed that Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Ciro Quispe López, who had been leading the Territorial Prelature of Juli in southern Peru.
The announcement, made on September 24, did not provide details on the findings of the investigation.
The case traces back to mid-2024, when several women accused Bishop Quispe of sexual misconduct. Reports also emerged of irregularities in church finances, prompting the Vatican to appoint Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez of Tacna and Moquegua as an apostolic visitor — a special investigator — to look into the matter.
The results of that inquiry have not yet been made public.
In response to the allegations last year, Bishop Quispe told Crux, an American Catholic news outlet, that the accusations were “inspired by malevolent forces.” Speaking to a local Peruvian newspaper, he added:
“All these things, brother, are under investigation, and we are currently in that process…”
Born in 1973, Bishop Ciro Quispe López was ordained a priest in 2001 and appointed bishop of Juli in 2018 by Pope Francis, during the tenure of then-Bishop Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV).
Quispe previously served as a lecturer in biblical sciences at the Pontifical and Civil School of Theology in Lima and earned a doctorate in biblical sciences from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
The Prelature of Juli, established in 1957, is located in the Puno region near the Bolivian border, over 12,000 feet above sea level, and is known for being one of Peru’s most remote and challenging pastoral territories.
Neither Bishop Quispe nor the prelature has issued a public statement since the resignation was announced.
