He is bishop of what one newspaper has described as “the most gossiped-about diocese in Italy”, with Pope Francis expected to send an apostolic administrator to resolve the problems.Bishop Mario Oliveri, who has led the Diocese of Albenga-Imperia since 1990, is accused of welcoming priests and seminarians with chequered pasts. There are also allegations of sexual and financial impropriety against some clergy, though not against the bishop himself. Oliveri’s name may be familiar to some English Catholics. Before becoming a bishop, he spent some time at the apostolic nunciature in London. While his boss, Archbishop Bruno Heim, was ill, Mgr Oliveri forwarded complaints to the Vatican written by Catholics opposed to the National Pastoral Congress held in Liverpool in 1980.Th