Bishop close to Pope Francis formally accused of abuse in Argentina for first time

A local public prosecutor's office has announced a bishop close to Pope Francis has been formally accused of sexually abusing seminarians.

The prosecutor's office in Salta Province said Friday that prosecutor Mónica Viazzi had accused Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta of "aggravated continuous sexual abuse."

This is the first time that a prosecutor has formally accused Zanchetta in his native Argentina.

Zanchetta resigned suddenly as bishop of the city of Orán in 2017. But Francis named him to a senior Vatican administration position a few months later.

The pope recently revealed in a TV interview that Zanchetta is now on trial in a Vatican tribunal for inappropriate sexual behaviour.

- AP