#Argentina #Cordoba – Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Seirutti was removed from his offices as auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Córdoba following a canonical judicial process initiated by allegations from two adults of conduct unbecoming his episcopal ministry. The nature of the misconduct allegations were not clarified, and the statement from the archdiocese used gender-neutral language to describe the complainants.
The Archdiocese of Córdoba, headed by Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, announced the decision in a statement dated October 2, 2026. The process had been ordered by the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and was conducted by the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Buenos Aires. It concluded in recent weeks with a ruling that stripped Seirutti of his offices.
Under the terms of the decision, Seirutti was prohibited for five years from receiving formal appointments or new ecclesiastical offices. He was also barred for the same period from administering the sacrament of penance or reconciliation, except in cases where a penitent was in danger of death, in accordance with Canon 976 of the Code of Canon Law. He retained the faculty to celebrate Mass and administer the other sacraments.
The archdiocese did not disclose the specific nature of the allegations. Its statement referred only to “complaints filed by two adults who alleged against him conduct unbecoming of his episcopal ministry”. Official communications used gender-neutral language for the complainants. The archdiocese offered its closeness and forgiveness to the affected persons and renewed its commitment that all actions of the local Church would be in accordance with the Gospel.
Seirutti, who was 70, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Córdoba in 1988. Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop and titular bishop of Bela in 2015. He later served as vicar general under Cardinal Rossi. He had participated as a voting synod father in the 2018 Synod on Young People, representing the Argentine episcopate.
The announcement came weeks before Pope Leo XIV was scheduled to visit Argentina, including a stop in Córdoba on November 10th, 2026. Córdoba is Argentina’s second-largest archdiocese by Catholic population. Seirutti’s removal was the latest in a series of early departures or sanctions involving Argentine bishops in recent years, amid ongoing scrutiny of the national episcopate.
No public statement from Seirutti addressing the allegations appeared at the time of the announcement. Reports indicated there was no parallel investigation in the civil justice system.
In the Catholic Church, episcopal ordination confers a permanent sacramental character. Once a man is ordained a bishop, he remains a bishop for life; that status is not undone by administrative or penal measures that remove him from a particular office. He therefore no longer holds the position of auxiliary bishop of Córdoba (or the related offices he previously exercised), but he continues to be a bishop by ordination. He is not reported to have been laicized or stripped of the episcopal character.
Cover Image: Bishop Ricardo Seirutti in 2015.
