RABAT: The Vatican has appointed an administrator to provisionally govern the Archdiocese of Rabat while it investigates Archbishop Cristobal Lopez Romero, who stepped aside after AFP revealed allegations of sexual assault.
According to a statement from the 74-year-old cardinal, seen by AFP, Vatican officials have appointed Father Mario Leon Dorado, currently Apostolic Prefect of Western Sahara, as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, with “all the rights and faculties granted to resident bishops.”
An apostolic administrator “sede plena” is a bishop or priest tasked with provisionally governing a diocese whose titular bishop remains in office but is “impeded or suspended,” according to the statement, dated Saturday, and addressed to the “brothers and sisters of the archdiocese.”
“This decision has been taken pending the results of the investigation conducted by the Holy See concerning the diocese and I,” the document adds, in which Romero says he will continue during this period to be the titular bishop of Rabat, “but with jurisdiction suspended.”
On July 8, AFP revealed that at least five women were accusing Romero, who was among the prominent cardinals considered in 2025 a potential successor to Pope Francis, of sexual violence and inappropriate behavior.
No complaint has yet been filed with the Moroccan judiciary, the prosecutor’s office and police told AFP recently.
In response to AFP inquiries, Romero said he had “committed neither assault nor violence nor sexual harassment,” while announcing that he was stepping aside pending a preliminary Vatican investigation.
Dorado, a Spanish priest, has been exercising his ministry in Western Sahara for nearly 25 years, according to the statement.
To date, the two alleged victims whose testimonies were reported by AFP have not received any request for a hearing from the Holy See, according to a source close to the case.
Several sources have spoken to AFP say they have been sidelined by the archdiocese since the complaints were made public.
On Sunday, they expressed the hope that this appointment will allow for better consideration of victims and whistleblowers by the archdiocese.
