Pope Francis is Removing Seedy Bishops in an Effort to Clean Up the Catholic Church

By Hayli Harding --
23 Jul 2015 --

The Pope organized a Vatican commission that determines the policies for the overall Church to follow and several bishops have been removed as a result.

Over the past few months, there have been many signs that Pope Francis is undergoing some intense hierarchal cleaning. On July 15, a Brazilian archbishop was dismissed after splurging $600,000 on renovating his home, office and seminary. In addition, Archbishop Antonio Carlos Altieri, 63, instituted a 10% assessment on Diocesan parish homes, implementing strange policies about accepting those who abandoned dioceses. He resigned just after the Vatican ordered the Brazilian Cardinal, Claudio Hummes, to investigate his home. He was a part of the Archdiocese of Passo Fundo, Brazil. In addition, Pope Francis has been removing bishops and archbishops who are at the center of child abuse scandals.

Pope Francis seems bolder than ever to do what it takes regardless of what critics think he should do. http://t.co/mY5twAOXxc
— John H. Armstrong (@JohnA1949) July 16, 2015

Establishing a Commission

The Pope organized a Vatican commission that determines the policies for the overall Church to follow, particularly in terms of child abuse scandals. The commission includes two past victims of abuse at the hands of clergy members. In June, a tribunal was created that would both judge and discipline any bishops that covered for the abusers. Since then, there have been many resignations forced onto bishops, such as the two U.S.-based bishops who allowed this type of abuse to occur under their supervision.

One bishop was removed recently due to his involvement in child abuse scandals in Mexico. Bishop Gonzalo Galvan Castillo, aged 64, was a member of the Diocese of Autlan, Mexico. Though his resignation was a mere sign on the bulletin boards of the Vatican, as of June 25, the Mexican media told us more about the true story. He had made a name due to his refusal to report and remove any priests that were suspected of child abuse.