Vatican to investigate claims that Peru bishop had affairs with multiple women

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – A bishop in Peru is under investigation by the Vatican after a former employee spoke to a local news outlet, alleging that the bishop carried on affairs with adult women.

Bishop Ciro Quispe Lopez of the Prelature of Juli, in the southern part of Peru, was accused by a former cook of regularly receiving women in his residence in Juli. A figure who answered Quispe’s phone and claimed to be his secretary denied the allegations in comments to Crux.

According to the woman who spoke to the media, Quispe, who is originally from the city of Cuzco, regularly asked her to clean his room, where she would find evidence that women had been there, such as women’s clothes and even bed sheets stained with menstrual blood.

The cook told her story to local news website Diario sin Fronteras, which also said it had obtained confirmation of the bishop’s alleged affairs, including audio messages sent by him through communication apps.

In one of them, Quispe calls a woman mi gorda (something like “my darling” in Spanish) and says that he loves her. He also promises that he will manage to get some free time and will spend a number of days with her.

A screen capture shows Quispe having a video call with a woman and sending her a kiss.

The former cook told Diario sin Fronteras that the bishop had affairs with several women, and named at least seven. She said that she had to receive the women and, after their encounters, she should clean the bedroom.

The employee, who was not named in the report, said she was told many times not to talk to anybody about what she saw.

“I found used condoms four times,” she told the website.

The allegations published by Diario sin Fronteras included a picture of what was thought to be Quispe’s room. It showed a used condom on the floor by his bed. The website later claimed that the cook had mistakenly included the picture among others, and that it shouldn’t have been part of the report because they were unable to confirm that it actually depicted the bishop’s personal room.

That picture, however, had already been reproduced by a number of newspapers.

The cook, who left her job in December 2023, according to Diario sin Fronteras, said that Quispe has been engaged in some relationships for years. At least two of them, she said, involve religious women.

On July 16, the Apostolic Nunciature in Peru released a letter saying that the several stories published by the press involving the Prelature of Juli led the Holy See to appoint Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez Lara of Tacna y Moquegua as an Apostolic Visitor, with the goal of “verifying in a precise manner the situation” in the area.

Peru’s Bishops’ Conference reproduced the document on its social media accounts the following day.

The claims against Quispe habe been given an echo on Facebook by an account named Defendiendo a mi Prelatura de Juli (“Defending My Prelature of Juli”), which also accuses the bishop of diverting funds from the church in his own benefit.

Crux contacted the page’s administrators, who confirmed their allegations. They refused, however, to identify themselves, claiming safety concerns.

Quispe was contacted by email by Crux. The bishop answered that he was “very interested” in giving an interview, that he has been suffering a defamation campaign, and that “dark hands” are behind the move against him. He also provided his cellphone number.

On the following day, however, a person claiming to be his secretary answered Crux’s phone messages saying that Quispe wouldn’t give interviews due to the investigation. The person also said that the allegations are false, and that Diario sin Fronteras – had retracted them.

In fact, Diario sin Fronteras has only said that the picture showing used condoms could not be verified.