VATICAN CITY, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The Vatican confirmed that a retired Archbishop, who had been Peru's leading Catholic cleric for decades, has been disciplined due to allegations of sexual abuse. Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne denies the accusations.
Cipriani, who served as the Catholic Archbishop of Lima from 1999 to 2019, now faces restrictions on his "public activity, place of residence, and use of insignia," as stated by Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican's press office.
These sanctions were imposed on Cipriani in 2019 in response to allegations made against him. Although details were not disclosed, Bruni mentioned that the cardinal has accepted the restrictions.
In a letter provided by the Rome office of Opus Dei on Monday, Cipriani, who is 81 and a member of the Catholic religious community Opus Dei, declared, "I haven't committed any crime, nor have I sexually abused anyone."
Following the Vatican's request to live outside of Peru, Cipriani has resided in Rome and Madrid.
Last week, Pope Francis addressed another sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church in Peru, involving the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.
Spain's El Pais newspaper initially disclosed the allegations against Cipriani on Saturday.