Francis had ordered an investigation into the allegations against Tegucigalpa Auxiliary Bishop Juan Jose Pineda Fasquelle last year.
On Friday, the Vatican said Francis had accepted Bishop Pineda’s resignation.
No explanation was given. At 57, Bishop Pineda is well below the normal retirement age of 75 for bishops.
He was the top deputy to Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, one of Francis’ main advisers, and his downfall is a blow to the Honduran archbishop.
Cardinal Maradiaga had frequently left the archdiocese in Bishop Pineda’s care due to his obligations as a member of Francis’ cabinet, as well as poor health that has forced him to seek medical treatment overseas.
The Vatican investigation had focused on both sexual misconduct allegations against Bishop Pineda and financial mismanagement charges against Cardinal Maradiaga.
Francis has stood by Cardinal Maradiaga’s assertion of innocence on the financial improprieties charges.
According to reports in the Italian magazine L’Espresso, Pineda was known to have had intimate relations with several men, including some favourites upon whom he bestowed gifts. Several seminarians reported his attempted advances.
It is the latest in a series of cases of high-profile prelates being brought down because of inappropriate sexual relations with adults under their authority.
Most recently, one of the most highly respected American…
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