Ciro Quispe López has handed in his notice to Pope Leo after an investigation by the Vatican over claims he had a string of lovers including a nun
A Peruvian bishop accused of having 17 secret mistresses has been exposed after some of the women found out about each other and nearly came to blows.
Ciro Quispe López, 51, the bishop of Juli in Peru has handed in his resignation to Pope Leo after a Vatican investigation interviewed three of the bishop’s alleged lovers as well as his cleaning lady, who supplied details about what she saw in his bedroom.
“A nun who was one of Quispe’s lovers was jealous of a lawyer the bishop was also seeing and sent information about his affairs to a third lover who got into a fight with the lawyer,” said Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who has seen a Vatican document detailing the investigation. “It was a real soap opera but also lifted the lid on a serious abuse of power,” she told The Times. “Many of the 17 women were too scared to come forward because they were frightened of him.”
The Vatican started its inquiry after an investigation by Kevin Moncada, a journalist for the Peruvian newspaper Sin Fronteras. “In April of last year, we received information that one of the bishop’s alleged lovers had practically come to blows with another young woman,” he told the publication Hildebrandt. He added: “That was the trigger. The case came to light because the women found out that the bishop was dating several of them at the same time and that infuriated them.”
Pope Leo spent 20 years working in Peru
IPA/ALESSIA GIULIANI/CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO/SPLASH
The Vatican is said to have studied amorous audio messages, photos and videos sent by the bishop to the women. The Peruvian publication Infobae reported the bishop confirmed he had sex in his official residence in one message.
Ugaz said Quispe made the mistake of sending some videos and photos he intended for mistresses to his cleaning lady, who promptly complained to the Catholic Church. Mancado said the cleaning lady had seen women’s hair in the bishop’s shower. He reported her saying: “His sheets had stains. I had to clean all of that up.”
The bishop has denied the allegations, calling them a defamation campaign by “dark hands”.
Ciro Quispe López
PACHAMAMA TV
Quispe, who was appointed bishop by Pope Francis in 2018, was also investigated by the Vatican for alleged embezzlement of church funds. Ugaz said the Vatican looked into allegations that Quispe removed chairs from a church property to use in a chicken restaurant which was part of a chain that he was said to have had a financial interest in. “The chain is called Patas Arriba, a phrase meaning “upside down” but which literally translates as “legs in the air”,” Ugaz said.
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The journalist said that before he left office, Quispe was challenged by a group of people from the Aymara indigenous group who claimed he had misspent United Nations funds meant to support projects in their community. “He gave back money, which is rare in Peru, but it was because they threatened to lynch him and the Aymara are known for keeping to their word,” she said.
Pope Leo’s acceptance of Quispe’s resignation is not the first time the American pontiff has had to deal with corruption in the Peruvian church. Before being elected as pope in May, he spent 20 years working in Peru where he investigated cult-like sexual abuse at the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae religious order.
He backed Ugaz, who also investigated the order, as she battled lawsuits by the order to stop her work. “Pope Leo is well aware of what goes on in the Peruvian church,” she said.
