Resignation of Guido Gallese, Bishop of Alessandria, following an apostolic visit and controversy over personal expenses

But there were also public controversies, internal tensions and deep divisions with a section of the clergy and the community. “To see one’s own life scrutinised through the lens of prejudice, to read derogatory terms that have nothing to do with the reality of the facts,” the then bishop had said during a meeting with the faithful, “is painful. Yet it is in this suffering that the true experience of Jesus on the Cross emerges.”

“Alessandria,” recalls the bishop emeritus today, “was my home for almost 14 years. Sometimes, truly loving a community means having the courage and humility – when you sense a shared sense of strain – to take a step back for the good of all. “Despite the media furore surrounding me,” he adds, “the visit went through its own process of discernment, at the end of which I received not a single line in writing, nor any sanction. However, the general atmosphere and the circumstances that have arisen have highlighted the need to turn the page, for everyone’s sake. When you realise this, being able to devote yourself to a new ministry for the Church becomes a gift.”

Gallese will officially bid farewell to the Diocese of Alessandria on 4 October and will move elsewhere. “It is a decision,” he emphasises, “that I am making first and foremost out of love and respect for this Church, to allow those who come after me complete freedom and peace of mind in their work. But Alessandria, its people, their faces and their stories will forever remain in my prayers and in my heart.”

The diocese had responded as reported in today’s article by Luisa Perri on Secolo d’Italia website: “No exotic holidays in South America,” claimed spokesperson Enzo Governale: “Gallese does go kitesurfing, but mainly in Liguria.”

As for the Tesla (the photo shows a red Tesla, ed.), it would not have cost the diocese a single euro. A number of property transactions had also become the subject of controversy: the former Capuchin convent, where Gallese had gone to live, and the Santa Chiara hall of residence intended for university students. In this case too, the diocese had rejected the notion of a bishop with a penchant for luxury, maintaining that the transactions were above board and pointing out that Gallese lived in very modest accommodation.