By Junno Arocho Esteves • Catholic News Service • Posted April 29, 2021
(CNS) The Ecuadorian bishops’ conference dismissed reports concerning the resignation of the bishop and coadjutor of the Diocese of Riobamba as “falsehoods” and “ideological prejudices.”
The Vatican announced April 28 that Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Julio Parrilla Díaz of Riobamba and his coadjutor, Msgr. Gerardo Miguel Nieves Loja, several months after Julia Serrano, a Spanish lay missionary in the diocese, accused both prelates of financial malfeasance and “moral failings.”
The statement signed by Archbishop Luis Cabrera of Guayaquil, president of the Ecuadorian bishops’ conference, Archbishop Alfredo Espinoza of Quito, vice president, and Quito Auxiliary Bishop David de la Torre, secretary-general, said Bishop Parrilla’s resignation was submitted when he turned 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope.