A Brazilian bishop has now resigned just less than a week after a video spread on social media that featured someone, purported to be him, masturbating.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva, who oversaw a diocese in Sao Paulo state, Sao Jose do Rio Preto. At age 60, Ferreira is 15 years shy of the normal retirement age for bishops. Since 2015, he had reportedly been investigated by the Vatican for other accusations, including allegedly ignoring reports of sexual abuse in his diocese.
The Vatican, the Brazilian bishops conference and Ferreira's home diocese all announced the resignation but provided no details on the cause. None of the three responded to emailed questions about whether the bishop was the man in the video or what was behind his departure. The person in the video resembles Ferreira, and local paper Diario da Regiao reported that in a short interview Ferreira confirmed it is his image, without providing further detail.
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