Dominican Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, who openly used a homophobic slur against an American diplomatic nominee could be questioned by local authorities in a child molestation case, Towleroad reported on Saturday.

The office of the prosecutor in Santiago, Santo Domingo, is investigating the disappearance of one of Wojciech “Alberto” Gil, a priest in Rodríguez’s diocese who left the country following abuse accusations from several families.

ADVERTISEMENT

Following initial reports of the accusations against Gil, the Santiago Archdiocese, which Rodríguez heads, suspended him as of May 30. Two children from Gil’s congregation have also been reported missing, and authorities are determined whether Gil took them out of the country under an alias.

“We cannot get ahead of the investigation since it must be determined whether the priest managed to leave Dominican Republic with another identity,” Luisa Liranzo told Dominican Today. “We have to wait for Immigration to investigate.”

Rodríguez, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, drew public criticism on June 27 after calling LGBT activist James “Wally” Brewster, who was nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, a “faggot” while answering a question about a Haitian poultry boycott against his country.