Photo of the Week

The 'innocent' vacation of Bishop Bargallo

The man you see above embracing a woman is Catholic Bishop Fernando Bargallo, titular of the Diocese of Merlo Moreno in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bargallo is also the president of Caritas in his country.

The photo shows a man and woman in full body contact, suggesting that more than a cordial embrace could be taking place below the surface.

Below, other photos from the same occasion. These shots portray a woman in her late thirties or early forties; the Prelate is in his fifties.

The photos were taken when Bargallo was attending a meeting of the Latin American & Carribean Secretariat of Caritas Social Pastoral Ministry in Mexico. Bargallo applied his own version of "pastoral" by inviting a girl friend to swim with him at one of the nearby beaches.

The scoop - the breaking news with photos & video - belongs to television station America 24 in Argentina. A full coverage of the incident was aired on June 19, 2012. Soon after, the TV knocked on the door of the Bishop's residence to ask for an explanation.

He admitted the authenticity of the photos. The woman was "a friend from his childhood" who "by coincidence" was also in Mexico at that precise time, he affirmed. So, they went to the beach together to commemorate that lucky chance encounter. "The photos can be explained only in the context of a long friendship," he explained.

"I lament that such a situation, which is not exempt from imprudence on my part, can give rise to wrong interpretations" he said. He denied that any fault against chastity was committed...

The Papal Nuncio in Argentina, Archbishop Emil Paul Tschering, passed the information on to the Vatican. So far, no response.

The video of America 24 that raised the scandal is here;
the one of the Bishop's disclaimer is here - both are in Spanish.

Photos from Veja, Sao Paulo, Brazil - Radio Cristiandad, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Posted June 24, 2012

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