Emilio Lorenzo Stehle (September 9, 1926 – May 16, 2017) was a German cleric who served as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

bishop in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. Born in Germany, Stehle was ordained to the priesthood in 1951. Stehle served as auxiliary bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quito The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Quito is the Catholic archdiocese in the capital city of Ecuador, Quito. It was established as the Diocese of Quito on 8 January 1545, before being elevated to archdiocese level in 1849 by Pope Pius ...

, Ecuador, from 1983 to 1986. He then served as bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Santo Domingo de los Colorados The Diocese of Santo Domingo in Ecuador ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Dominici in Aequatoria) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in northern Ecuador. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropol ...

from 1987 to 2002. Stehle died on May 16, 2017. When journalistic investigations revealed in 2021 that Stehle had used the office to facilitate the escape of priests accused of abusing minors, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim commissioned an investigation. Moreover, allegations of abuse against Stehle himself have shocked Germany. Stehle also allegedly facilitated the transfer of accused priests from Germany to Latin America.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stehle, Emilio Lorenzo 1926 births 2017 deaths German Roman Catholic bishops in South America German expatriates in Ecuador Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Roman Catholic bishops of Santo Domingo de los Colorados Roman Catholic bishops of Quito