Pope Francis accepts resignation of Chilean auxiliary bishop

Pope Francis walks past cardinals after celebrating a Pentecost Mass in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, June 9, 2019. The Pentecost Mass is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter. (AP)

SANTIAGO, Chile — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the auxiliary bishop of the Chilean capital city just 24 days after he appointed him to the post, church officials said Friday.

Bishop Carlos Eugenio Irarrázabal had become embroiled in controversy after he recently said there were no women at the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples so “we have to respect that.” He also said that perhaps women “like to be in the back room.”

The Santiago Archdiocese said in a statement that the pope’s decision came after talking with Irarrázabal, who joins the more than 30 Chilean bishops who presented their resignations in 2018 after a report ordered by Francis revealed a culture of abuse and cover-ups for decades in Chile’s church.

In a statement issued by the archdiocese later Friday, Irarrázabal said that he wanted to “reiterate my apologies to those have been affected by my comments.”

He will remain in charge of a parish in Santiago where in 2011 he replaced Fernando Karadima, Chile’s most infamous pedophile priest.