Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Mons. Carlos María Domínguez, 59, to the pastoral government of the Diocese of San Rafael (Argentina), confirmed the Holy See on Thursday.
In his replacement, the Pontiff appointed Apostolic Administrator Vacant Headquarters to Monsignor Marcelo Fabián Mazzitelli, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mendoza, confirmed the Apostolic Nunciature in Argentina.
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In a letter posted on the portal Bona fideMons. Domínguez explained that his resignation is due to “personal issues”, while recognizing “perplexity” that causes the news in the community.
“Believe me, this decision causes me deep pain,” he said. “For three years- one as an apostolic administrator and two as a diocesan bishop- I gave myself with all my heart to this church of San Rafael,” he added.
He also thanked Pope Francis for his confidence in appointing him Bishop of the Diocese and the community “for the incessant samples of affection and for always feeling accompanied by the prayer of all.”
“I want to apologize for what I did wrong, so I did not do and so I didn’t know how to do,” he adds.
“I take each one of you in my heart: to my brothers priests; to the seminarians; to religious, religious and consecrated; To the laity and so many that God put in my episcopal path. They pray a lot for me that at this time is very most needed. I pray and always pray for you and for this diocese I love, ”he added, entrusting the faithful to the mother of Lourdes and the protection of San Rafael.
In dialogue with ACI Press, the spokesman for the Diocese, P. José Álvarez, explained that Mons. Domínguez is no longer in the diocese. On the uncertainty generated by the news of the resignation, he explained that: “For us, what was reported is what happened”, without second readings.
About the order for forgiveness that appears in the letter of the outgoing bishop, he said that “he appreciates and apologizes like any person who leaves his place.”
In addition, he insisted that since the diocese “we have not hidden anything, nor will we”, and in the event that something else is known about the resignation, they will make it known. “We tell the truth,” he said.
Who is Mons. Carlos María Domínguez?
Mons. Domínguez was born in San Martín, province of Buenos Aires, on December 23, 1965, indicates the website of the Diocese of San Rafael.
He was ordained a priest for the order of the Augustinian Recoletos on March 13, 1993.
He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Juan de Cuyo on April 22, 2019 and received the Episcopal Consecration on June 29 of the same year.
On February 5, 2022, after accepting the resignation of Mons. Eduardo María Taussig, previous bishop of San Rafael, and a year and a half after the controversial decision to close the Santa María Madre de Dios Seminary, Pope Francis appointed Mons Dominguez as Apostolic Administrator.
On February 11, 2023, the Pontiff appointed him bishop of that episcopal headquarters.
He took possession and began his pastoral ministry as the eighth bishop of San Rafael, on March 25, 2023.
At the Episcopal Conference he is a member of the Life, Lay and Family Commission (CEVILAF) and Alternate Delegate of the Pastoral Region Cuyo, in which he will continue in charge.
What happened in the Diocese of San Rafael?
In mid -2020, the bishopric of San Rafael lived a time of strong tensions with an important group of faithful and priests.
In June of that year, when announcing the restart of the public cult suspended by the Covid pandemic, the then bishop, Mons. Taussig, determined that communion could only be received standing and hand, and not in the mouth and knees , which caused discomfort between laity and priests of the diocese, and also in the seminar.
On July 27, 2020, the Bishop announced that, by disposition of the Vatican, the Santa María Madre de Dios Seminar would close its doors at the end of 2020 and the seminarians would be relocated to other dioceses. Without major explanations about the reasons, the closure took place on November 27, 2020.
The Seminar of the Diocese of San Rafael was the most populous in Argentina, with 39 vocations, he says Chain 3. After the closure, a smaller number – which decided to continue with the formation to the priesthood – was distributed in other training centers.
A little over a year, on February 5, 2022, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Mons. Eduardo María Taussig, and appointed San Rafael Apostolic Administrator to Mons. Carlos María Domínguez.
When his designation was known, Mons. Domínguez encouraged work for unity and for “pacifying the situation, trying not make him lose faith. “
In July of that same year, in a letter in response to a priest of San Rafael, the Holy Father pointed against the “stiffness” in the formation.
“The rigidity is not a gift from God, the meekness yes, goodness yes, the benevolence yes, forgiveness does, but the rigidity does not! Because as you intuit it, rigidity is the prelude to the ideology that does so badly and that led to Jesus’ rigid to condemn him for putting mercy above the law, “Pope Francis wrote in the letter.
Julieta Villar
I am a journalist, a graduate in Communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non -governmental organizations. Since 2016 I dedicate myself to Catholic journalism, first in the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as a correspondent for ACI Press for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.