Leo XIV Promotes Bishop Who Helped Neutralize the Chiclayo Abuse Case
Monsignor Golka was appointed bishop of Colorado Springs by Pope Francis in April 2021. In June 2025, El País described Golka as having “similar ideological leanings as Pope Francis.”
When Golka became Bishop in Colorado Springs, the Peruvian priest Ricardo Coronado-Arrascue was serving as judicial vicar and chancellor of this diocese.
A Peruvian Canon Lawyer with Ties to Prevost
Coronado is a former Peruvian Augustinian friar who left the order in 2001 to become a diocesan priest. He knows Robert Prevost well, and the two have had tensions in the past according to CruxNow.com.
In May 2022, Coronado resigned his offices in Colorado Springs, and a settlement agreement was signed between him and the diocese.
The Making of a Disobedience Case
In June 2023, the diocese Colorado Springs stated publicly that it had received “accusations” against Coronado and that restrictions were therefore in place. The diocese did not specify the nature of the accusations. Coronado could no longer exercise ministry in the Diocese of Colorado Springs.
In November 2023, Coronado filed a civil lawsuit against the Diocese and in 2024 against Bishop Golka personally, alleging among other things breach of contract (relating to the May 2022 settlement) and defamation. The case was later dismissed by U.S. courts.
Coronado Enters the Chiclayo Abuse Case
In late 2023, Coronado became involved in the Chiclayo abuse allegations.
On 6 May 2024, he was hired by the three women who claim they were sexually abused between 2006 and 2010, acting as their lawyer. According to InfoVaticana.com, the accused priest, Eleuterio “Lute” Vásquez Gonzales, admitted to the “sins.”
Despite authoring Peru’s abuse guidelines, Prevost is accused of mishandling the Chiclayo case and of actions critics describe as amounting to a cover-up.
As a cardinal, Robert Prevost stated that he had barred Father Lute from ministry; however, critics note that the decree he issued did not formally prohibit Lute from exercising priestly functions, and Lute in fact continued in ministry.
Bishop Golka’s May 31, 2024 Document
Already on 31 May 2024 — less than a month after Coronado was hired by the victims — Bishop Golka signed a document, seen by El País, stating that Coronado was already “under canonical investigation” and therefore could not practice as an ecclesiastical lawyer.
Bishop Golka wrote that Coronado was not “fit for the welfare of the faithful” and accused him of attempting to intimidate the bishop through “baseless and frivolous civil lawsuits.”
Bishop Golka’s action was central in framing Coronado as disobedient and in laying the groundwork for his laicization months later.
An Unusually Rapid Ecclesiastical Response
In August 2024, the Peruvian bishops barred Coronado from practicing canon law after opening a penal canonical investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with an adult. Coronado firmly denied that accusatoin.
On 19 December 2024, the Vatican expelled Coronado from the priesthood for misconduct and conduct incompatible with priestly life (laicization).
The Peruvian bishops and the Vatican acted with striking speed in the case of this controversial priest, who had become institutionally inconvenient.
Coronado’s Claim of a Coordinated Campaign
Coronado described himself as “the victim of a targeted campaign.”
“I want you to emphasize that this has been a coordinated attack by the Peruvian Episcopal Conference and Rome,” he said, insisting that it was the three women who contacted him — not the other way around.
#newsJreopytogv