Bishop Jose Ronaldo Ribeiro of Formosa Bishop Jose Ronaldo Ribeiro of Formosa was arrested and charged, along with four diocesan priests, of stealing about €492,000 of diocesan money.
Two days after the arrest, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Paulo Mendes Peixoto of Uberaba to serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese.
Prosecutors in the state of Goias allege Bishop Ribeiro and the priests purchased a cattle ranch and a lottery store with the diverted money. The courts authorised prosecutors to wiretap the telephones of the accused.
Officials who issued the warrants and searched the bishop’s home said they found money hidden in a secret compartment in a closet.
The prosecutor in charge of this case, Douglas Chegury, told local Brazilian media that the bishop is also suspected of stealing from parishioners in another diocese, in the state of Minas Gerais, where he served from 2007 to 2014.
“The bishop faced this same type of problem in the Diocese of Janauba. He was transferred from there to here, where he implemented a similar scheme,” Mr Chegury said
The Brazilian bishops’ conference issued a statement expressing solidarity with the parishioners of the Formosa Diocese.
The statement said they reminded Bishop Ribeiro “that justice is to abandon oneself to the merciful will of God. The truth of the facts must be determined with justice and transparency, for the good of the individual church and the bishop”.
The statement also asked for prayer.