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And before it's over, Bishop Romero-Palma will also officially announce his resignation.

7NEWS broke the story months ago and up until today he has not commented publicly about his sudden and unexpected departure. This morning he broke his silence and told Keith Swift that the much rumored bickering within the church is not why he is leaving. The reason the 60-year-old Bishop gives is that he has gotten a job at a parish in California which will put him closer to his family.

Rt. Rev. Sylvestre Romero-Palma,
“My wife is from Guatemala and being in Belize and leaving our children in California has been very hard on her and since we’ve been here we’ve had grandchildren and so she travels back and forth to be with them. This job that has been offered to me is right where my three children are so it will give us an opportunity to really be together as a family and I look forward to that.”

Keith Swift,
So there is no truth to speculation that you are leaving because of infighting within the church in Belize?

Rt. Rev. Sylvestre Romero-Palma,
“I don’t think there is any organization that is without tension especially because we are human beings but that has not caused me to make this decision to leave. Fortunately, we have been able to work together as a church and I hope people can see that there have been results. If we had been fighting each other we wouldn’t have gotten anyway. But even with our differences, we’ve never fought, but even with our differences we have been able to do the work that we need to do. I don’t think there is anybody in this diocese that is really an enemy of mine or I feel myself an enemy of that person. There are just difference of opinion, different ways of doing things. I know there are a lot of people who would want me to act differently as bishop but that is my personality. I do it the way I can handle it. I can’t pretend to be somebody else that I am not. But nevertheless that has been anything serious so the speculation is just a speculation and nothing is behind it really.”

Palma will celebrate his final mass at St. John's Cathedral on November 28th. Palma served as Bishop from 1994 to 2004. Prior to his arrival, the Anglican Church in Belize was without a bishop for 5 years.