Peruvian bishop is accused of having 17 secret lovers after being exposed by cleaning lady… as mistresses started fighting over him

A Peruvian bishop accused of having 17 secret mistresses has handed in his resignation after reportedly being exposed by his cleaning lady.  

Ciro Quispe López, 51, the bishop of Juli in Peru, resigned his prestigious post following an investigation by the Vatican that revealed some of the women nearly physically fought each other after finding out the truth. 

Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist, said: ‘A nun who was one of Quispe’s lovers was jealous of a lawyer the bishop was also seeing and sent information about his affairs to a third lover who got into a fight with the lawyer.’ 

She added in an interview with The Times: ‘It was a real soap opera but also lifted the lid on a serious abuse of power. 

‘Many of the 17 women were too scared to come forward because they were frightened of him.’

López is said to have been caught out after he accidentally sent photos and videos intended for his mistresses to his cleaner, who quickly filed a complaint to the Catholic Church. 

The Vatican reportedly combed through sordid voice notes, photos and videos López sent his 17 mistresses. 

But the disgraced clergyman denies the allegations, describing them as a defamation campaign conducted by ‘dark hands’.

 López is also said to have been under investigation by the Vatican for allegedly embezzling church funds. 

He is said to have been accused of removing chairs from church property to be used in a chicken restaurant chain that he had a financial interest in.

The chain is called Patas Arriba, which means ‘upside down’ by literally translates to ‘legs in the air’.

The Vatican accepted López’s resignation early last month, more than 20 years ahead of when bishops ordinarily retire at the age of 75.