The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has annulled the extraordinary process carried out on Father Ariel Príncipi, a priest of the Diocese of Villa de la Concepción del Río Cuarto in Argentina, and confirmed his expulsion from the clerical state.
In recent weeks it became known that, by means of an extraordinary process, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith had determined to annul the expulsion and instead impose certain measures limiting the exercise of his ministry.
However, a new statement dated Oct. 7, released by AICA (Spanish acronym for Argentine Catholic News Agency, unrelated to CNA), reversed the previous decision and confirmed the expulsion from the clerical state of Príncipi, accused of crimes against the Sixth Commandment — which include cases of sexual abuse of minors — thus annulling the extraordinary process.
“The sentence of the Buenos Aires Interdiocesan Tribunal of April 8, 2024, which confirmed the penalty of expulsion from the clerical state of Mr. Principi, previously established by the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Cordoba on June 2, 2023, must be considered in force in all its parts and, consequently, the case has been closed,” the Vatican concluded.
Príncipi, incardinated in the Diocese of Villa de la Concepción in the city of Río Cuarto, had been accused in 2021 of the abuse of minors and was tried first by the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Córdoba, which decided to expel him from the clerical state, a penalty confirmed in 2024 after being appealed to the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Buenos Aires.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. It was updated with new information confirming the expulsion on Oct. 9, 2024, at 10:34 a.m.