Rome, Italy, May 22, 2012 / 01:03 am
Pope Benedict XVI has removed an Italian bishop from ministry following the launch of a police investigation into alleged financial corruption within his Sicily diocese.
The Vatican’s official bulletin on May 19 announced that the Pope relieved the Diocese of Trapani from the “pastoral care” of Bishop Francesco Miccichè.
Bishop Miccichè, 69, had been in charge of the diocese on the Island of Sicily for the past 14 years. Since last year, however, Italy’s financial police have been investigating the disappearance of over one million euros (approximately $1,275,000) from two charitable foundations operated by the diocese.
In June 2011 the Vatican asked a fellow Sicilian prelate, Bishop Domenico Mogavero of Mazara del Vallo, to investigate the situation in the Diocese of Trapani on their behalf. The result is Bishop Miccichè dismissal this weekend.