Pakistani archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw has been replaced as administrator of the Archdiocese of Lahore, as announced by the archdiocesan vicar general on Thursday, August 15.
Bishop Shaw is reportedly facing accusations of sexual abuse and financial fraud, but his future remains uncertain due to a lack of official information regarding his dismissal and the reasons behind it.
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On August 15, Father Asif Sardar announced during Mass at Lahore Cathedral that the Archbishop of Karachi, Bishop Benny Mario Travas, will take over as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese in northeastern Pakistan while Bishop Shaw leaves “on sabbatical,” according to UCA News.
The vicar general did not explain why the 66-year-old archbishop was stepping down in his announcement made during the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
Bishop Shaw, who has led Pakistan’s largest archdiocese, with more than half a million Catholics, since 2013, has been accused of sexual abuse and selling Church property to give the money to his brother and nephew, according to UCA News .
Church officials in Lahore did not respond to UCA News’ request for comment on Bishop Shaw’s replacement, while the president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Bishop of Hyderabad, Bishop Samson Shukardin, commented that he had no official information and was “unsure of Archbishop Shaw’s status at this time,” according to the Catholic news website.
The Vatican has not yet published the archbishop’s dismissal.
A Christian-run YouTube channel, “National News Nama,” claimed in July that Bishop Shaw had been suspended due to financial irregularities and would be “permanently settling in the United States.”
The director of the YouTube channel, Francis Sodagar, told UCA News that he had access to “leaked information” about Bishop Shaw.
Bishop Shaw was born in the small village of Padri Jo Goth in southeastern Pakistan in 1957. After joining the Order of Friars Minor, he was ordained a priest of Lahore in 1991.
He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lahore in 2009 and in 2013 he was appointed Archbishop of Lahore.
Bishop Shaw has a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally Posted by CNA.
Hannah Brockhaus
Hannah Brockhaus is Rome correspondent for Catholic News Agency. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.