Argentine bishop resigns in light of sex tape; claims he was set up.

The scandal broke over the weekend with newspaper reports that the Vatican had received a copy of a videotape showing Juan Carlos Maccarone, 64, the bishop of the poor northern province of Santiago del Estero, having "intimate relations" with a 23-year-old chauffeur.

Now Maccarone and other church officials say the bishop was set up. They suspect Maccarone was targeted for his work on behalf of the poor and his opposition to the clan of a former governor who ran the province much like a private fiefdom for nearly 50 years.

"Everything points to … political revenge," said Rev. Guillermo Marco, a spokesman for the Buenos Aires archbishop.

The chauffeur, Alfredo Serrano, said he made the video to get back at Maccarone for failing to help his family and find the young man a good job.

Well, set-up or not (unless the tape was completely fabricated, somehow)…buh-bye.

Which is too bad, because in the recent past, the bishop has said some good and true things.

Speaking of Latin America, here’s one for those who enjoy observing free speech and the lack of it:

In Brazil, priest fined for calling abortion advocate "pro-abortion."

A panel of judges in Brasilia has ordered a Catholic priest to pay a fine for using the word “pro-abortion” to describe anthropologist Debora Diniz Rodrigues, a renowned defender of abortion and director of the Institute on Bioethics, Human Rights and Gender.

Last week judges in Brasilia ordered Father Luiz Carlos Lodi da Cruz, president of the Pro-life Association of Anapolis, to pay a fine of $3,000 for damages against Diniz.

The judges also ordered Father Lodi to refrain from using the word “pro-abortion” to describe those who defend abortion. Upon hearing the sentence, the Brazilian priest wondered aloud “what adjective should be used then to describe someone who defends abortion, since certainly one who defends divorce is not offended by being called pro-divorce nor is a supporter of Communism by being called a communist.”

“The judges failed to indicate which word in our language is acceptable, and has the same meaning but is non-offensive, for describing someone who openly defends abortion.” Father Lodi said.