Pope Francis replaced the cardinal who was missing for two days in Panama

Pope Francis this Thursday replaced Cardinal José Luis Lacunza as bishop of a diocese in Panama, who was recently missing for two days in a puzzling incident.The Apostolic Nunciature reported.

“The Holy Father appointed David as bishop [oeste de Panamá] The Apostolic Nunciature said in a statement: “To Father Reverend Luis Enrique Saldaña Guerra,” after accepting Cardinal Lacunza’s resignation from the diocese “due to the age limit.”

He was born in Spain and is about to turn 80 years old. Lacunza resigned from the diocese due to the age limit of 75 yearsLike all Catholic bishops, according to church custom, Francisco kept him in office.

However, the Pope resigned two weeks after he starred in a strange episode in which he disappeared for two days, which led to the Panamanian police and the Attorney General’s Office searching for him.

The cardinal disappeared on January 30 after leaving his office in David400 kilometers west of the Panamanian capital, and the police found him two days later “somewhat disoriented” inside his car in a rural area, about 40 kilometers from the bishopric.

When celebrating his first Mass after this event, he asked for “forgiveness” and “apology” to his parishioners.

“I want to apologize and ask for forgiveness for the offense I have caused you,” said the bishop, who will turn 80 on February 24 and has developed almost his entire priestly career in Panama.

“It was a stupid thing I wouldn't do when I was 15, and I'm doing it now that I'm going to be 80,” he said. He added: “How angry, the older you get, the stupider you become.”

Lacunza has been a bishop since January 1986 and was appointed a cardinal — the only one from Panama to date — in February 2015 by Pope Francis.

The Pontifical Embassy noted that the appointment of Saldaña as the new Bishop of David “was published today, Thursday, February 15, 2024, in the Bulletin of the Holy See.”

(Information from Agence France-Presse)