Catholic sexual abuse cases in Latin America

Last updated

The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Latin America is a significant part of the series of Catholic sex abuse cases.

Contents

Argentina

Archdiocese of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz

Allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarists surfaced in 1994. [7]

Bolivia

Brazil

Diocese of Anápolis
Archdiocese of Penedo

Chile

Archdiocese of Santiago

José Andrés Aguirre Ovalle, aka "Cura Tato", was found guilty of nine sexual abuse charges by the highest court of this country. Aguirre was sentenced to 12 years in jail. At the beginning of this trial, the Catholic church was sentenced to pay 50 millions in damages to the victims, but then this sentence was revoked by the supreme court. [13]

El Salvador

In November 2015, sex abuse scandals in El Salvador's sole non-military Catholic diocese, the Archdiocese of San Salvador, started coming to light [14] when the Archdiocese's third highest ranking priest Jesus Delgado, who was also the biographer and personal secretary of the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero [15] was dismissed by the Archdiocese after its investigation showed that he had molested a girl, now 42 years of age, when she was between the ages of 9 and 17. [15] Due to the statute of limitations, Delgado could not face criminal charges. [16] In December 2016, a canonical court convicted Delgado and two other El Salvador priests, Francisco Galvez and Antonio Molina, of committing acts of sex abuse between the years 1980 and 2000 and laicized them from the priesthood. [14] [17] [18] [16] In November 2019, the Archdiocese acknowledged sex abuse committed by a priest identified as Leopoldo Sosa Tolentino in 1994 and issued a public apology to his victim. [14] Tolentino, has been suspended from ministry and has begun the canonical trial process. [19] It was also reported at this time that another El Salvador priest had been laicized in 2019 after pleading guilty to sex abuse in a Vatican trial and is serving a 16 year prison sentence after being convicted in a criminal trial. [14]

Mexico

Fr. Marcial Maciel (1920–2008) founded the Legion of Christ, a Catholic order of priests originating in Mexico. Nine former seminarians of his order accused Maciel of molestation. [20] One retracted his accusation, saying that it was a plot intended to discredit the Legion. Maciel maintained his innocence of the accusations. In early December 2004, a few months before Pope John Paul II's death, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who would replace him as Pope, becoming Benedict XVI) reopened a Vatican investigation into longstanding allegations against Maciel.[ citation needed ]

In January 2020 the Episcopal Conference of Mexico (CEM) announced that it had investigated 426 priests for sexual abuse of minors and other unspecified crimes in the past ten years. 217 priests have been retired, 173 cases were in process, and 253 investigations have concluded. According to the Agencia Católica de Informaciones (ACI Prensa), the CEM asked the Legion of Christ to return Fr. Fernando Martínez Suárez, who abused at least six girls in the 1990s, be returned to Mexico and turned over to civil authorities. The Legion said that Pope Francis had expelled Martínez Suárez, but they had not done so yet. [21] El Universal reported on February 2, 2020, that of 156 cases of alleged abuse of minors between 2009 and 2019, only six had resulted in conviction. [22]

A priest identified only as Aristeo "B" was found guilty of raping an eight-year-old girl over a period of three years in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuauhua, on February 22, 2021. [23]

Peru

In 2007, Daniel Bernardo Beltrán Murguía Ward, a 42-year-old Italian-Peruvian Consecrated Layman of the group Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, was found by the Peruvian National Police in a hostel in Cercado de Lima with an 11-year-old boy, whom he was taking sexually explicit pictures of. The boy was initially lured by Murguía Ward and given Pokémon figures in exchange for photos of his intimate parts. When Murguía Ward was caught, he had paid the boy 20 Nuevo Soles ($7 USD) for his services in the hostel. The police have reported that pictures of two other boys were also found on Murguía Ward's camera and that the boy has claimed he received oral sex from Murguía Ward. These charges have been denied by the accused. Murguía Ward has since been removed from the group Sodalitium Christianae Vitae for his misconduct. [24] [25] [26]

Venezuela

This section is an excerpt from Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Venezuela.[ edit ]

In 2022, a scandal unfolded in Venzuela [27] after the American newspaper The Washington Post published a report detailing an original investigation in Catholic priests in Venezuela who were accused and/or convicted of sexual abuse. The report revealed that of the at least 10 Catholic priests accused and/or convicted of sexual abuse between 2001 and 2022, three served little or no time in sentence and returned to priesthood. [28] The Washington Post mentioned cases that occurred in Anzoátegui, Falcón, Lara, Mérida and Zulia, [29] although there have been complains in at least eleven states in Venezuela. [30]

The Church confirmed the veracity of the report, admitting the existence of cases of abuse that same year, announcing an investigation and actions to prevent sexual abuse in the future. [31] This scandal follows others that occurred in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church sexual abuse cases</span>

There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by priests, nuns, and other members of religious life in the Catholic Church. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, acknowledgement and apologies by Church authorities, and revelations about decades of instances of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up. The abused include mostly boys but also girls, some as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Criminal cases for the most part do not cover sexual harassment of adults. The accusations of abuse and cover-ups began to receive public attention during the late 1980s. Many of these cases allege decades of abuse, frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where abuse continued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legionaries of Christ</span> Catholic religious congregation

The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ is a congregation of papal right. It is made up of priests, deacons and brothers in formation for the priesthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in El Salvador

The Archdiocese of San Salvador is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. Its archepiscopal see is the Salvadoran capital, San Salvador, and the surrounding region.

This page documents Catholic Church sexual abuse cases by country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Orán</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orán is located in the city of San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, Argentina. It is a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of Salta.

The Archdiocese of Boston sex abuse scandal was part of a series of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in the United States that revealed widespread crimes in the American Catholic Church. In early 2002, TheBoston Globe published results of an investigation that led to the criminal prosecutions of five Roman Catholic priests and thrust the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy into the national spotlight. Another accused priest who was involved in the Spotlight scandal also pleaded guilty. The Globe's coverage encouraged other victims to come forward with allegations of abuse, resulting in numerous lawsuits and 249 criminal cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual abuse scandals in Catholic orders and societies</span>

As distinct from abuse by some parish priests, who are subject to diocesan control, there has also been abuse by members of Roman Catholic orders, which often care for the sick or teach at school. Just as diocesan clergy have arranged parish transfers of abusive priests, abusive brothers in Catholic orders are sometimes transferred.

The sexual abuse scandal in the Chicago archdiocese in the late 20th and early 21st century is a major chapter in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual abuse cases of Marcial Maciel</span>

Marcial Maciel was the founding leader of the Legion of Christ, then based in Mexico, and its general director from 1941 to January 2005. Since the 1970s the prominent Mexican Roman Catholic priest had sexually abused at least 60 minors." and fathered six children by three women. Described as a charismatic leader and the "greatest fundraiser of the modern Roman Catholic church", he was successful in recruiting seminarians at a time of declining priestly vocations. Maciel was the "highest ranking priest ever disciplined because of sexual abuse allegations."

The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, U.S., is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States, Ireland and elsewhere. The Philadelphia abuses were substantially revealed through a grand jury investigation in 2005. In early 2011, a new grand jury reported extensive new charges of abusive priests active in the archdiocese. In 2012, a guilty plea by priest Edward Avery and the related trial and conviction of William Lynn and mistrial on charges against James J. Brennan followed from the grand jury's investigations. In 2013, Charles Engelhardt and teacher Bernard Shero were tried, convicted and sentenced to prison. Lynn was the first official to be convicted in the United States of covering up abuses by other priests in his charge and other senior church officials have been extensively criticized for their management of the issue in the archdiocese.

Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia, like Catholic Church sexual abuse cases elsewhere, have involved convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests, members of religious orders and other personnel which have come to light in recent decades, along with the growing awareness of sexual abuse within other religious and secular institutions.

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada are well documented dating back to the 1960s. The preponderance of criminal cases with Canadian Catholic dioceses named as defendants that have surfaced since the 1980s strongly indicate that these cases were far more widespread than previously believed. While recent media reports have centred on Newfoundland dioceses, there have been reported cases—tested in court with criminal convictions—in almost all Canadian provinces. Sexual assault is the act of an individual touching another individual sexually and/or committing sexual activities forcefully and/or without the other person's consent. The phrase Catholic sexual abuse cases refers to acts of sexual abuse, typically child sexual abuse, by members of authority in the Catholic church, such as priests. Such cases have been occurring sporadically since the 11th century in Catholic churches around the world. This article summarizes some of the most notable Catholic sexual abuse cases in Canadian provinces.

The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Europe has affected several dioceses in European nations. Italy is an exceptional case as the 1929 Lateran Treaty gave the Vatican legal autonomy from Italy, giving the clergy recourse to Vatican rather than Italian law.

The parish transfers of abusive Catholic priests, also known as priest shuffling, is a pastoral practice that has greatly contributed to the aggravation of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases. Some bishops have been heavily criticized for moving offending priests from parish to parish, where they still had personal contact with children, rather than seeking to have them permanently returned to the lay state by laicization. The Church was widely criticized when it was discovered that some bishops knew about some of the alleged crimes committed, but reassigned the accused instead of seeking to have them permanently removed from the priesthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karadima case</span> Case of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church

The case of Fernando Karadima concerned the sexual abuse of minors in Chile, which became public in 2010. It raised questions about the responsibility and complicity of several Chilean bishops, including some of the country's highest-ranking Catholic prelates. By 2018, it attracted worldwide attention.

The sexual abuse of minors by clergy of the Catholic Church in Chile and the failure of Church officials to respond and take responsibility attracted worldwide attention as a critical failure of Pope Francis and the Church as a whole to address the sexual abuse of minors by priests. Among a number of cases, that of Father Fernando Karadima, which became public in 2010, raised questions about the responsibility and complicity of several Chilean bishops, including some of the country's highest-ranking Catholic prelates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania</span>

A grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania lasted from 2016 to 2018, and investigated the history of clerical sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses.

Gustavo Óscar Zanchetta is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Orán from 2013 to 2017, when Pope Francis demanded his resignation because of his failure as a leader of his priests. Assigned to an administrative position in the Roman Curia, Zanchetta was charged in 2019 with the sexual assault of two adult seminarians while bishop of Orán. He was convicted in March 2022 and sentenced to four and a half years under house arrest. The result of Church proceedings against him has not been announced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julio César Grassi</span> Argentine Catholic priest and convicted child molester

Julio César Grassi is an Argentine Roman Catholic priest and convicted sex offender, child molester and fraudster.

In 2022, a scandal unfolded in Venzuela after the American newspaper The Washington Post published a report detailing an original investigation in Catholic priests in Venezuela who were accused and/or convicted of sexual abuse. The report revealed that of the at least 10 Catholic priests accused and/or convicted of sexual abuse between 2001 and 2022, three served little or no time in sentence and returned to priesthood. The Washington Post mentioned cases that occurred in Anzoátegui, Falcón, Lara, Mérida and Zulia, although there have been complains in at least eleven states in Venezuela.

References

  1. ↑ Father Grassi: the sentence will be announced today "Momento 24", June 10, 2009
  2. ↑ Argentine priest convicted of sexually abusing boy AP, June 10, 2009
  3. ↑ Argentine priest gets 15 years prison for sex abuse Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine The Star Online, June 11th, 2009
  4. ↑ "Argentina prelate says clerical abuse crisis 'just beginning' in pope's country". 18 August 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Argentina prelate says clerical abuse crisis 'just beginning' in pope's country". Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  6. ↑ "Argentine bishops face charges for accepting sex-abuse complaints | News Headlines".
  7. ↑ "Impact of sex scandals felt worldwide". The Boston Globe.
  8. ↑ /flores, Paola (May 20, 2023). "Bolivian Catholic priest accused of abusing seminary students". AP News . Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ /flores, Paola (May 20, 2023). "Bolivian Catholic priest accused of abusing seminary students". AP News . Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ Brazil - Brazzil Mag - Close to 2000 Brazilian Priests Caught in Sexual Misconduct Archived December 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Allen, John L. (2005). "Sex abuse in Brazil: abuser priest provides checklist for selecting victims". National Catholic Reporter.
  12. ↑ "Sex scandal embroils Catholic Church in Brazil". 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010.
  13. ↑ Comunicaciones, Compañia Chilena de. "Corte Suprema confirmó condena a 12 años para el cura "Tato"".
  14. 1 2 3 4 "El Salvador archbishop apologizes over priest sex abuse case". Associated Press. November 3, 2019. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "Senior El Salvador priest fired over alleged sex with minor". Reuters. November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  16. 1 2 "Vatican court finds three El Salvador priests guilty of child abuse | Catholic Herald". Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  17. ↑ "Vatican trial finds three El Salvadoran priests guilty of sex abuse". Reuters. December 19, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Romero – Compromised Canonization". Gloria.tv. March 9, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Initiate canonical process and suspend priest accused of sexual abuse of minors". Catholic News Agency-ACIPrensa. November 3, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  20. ↑ ReGAIN Website Archived 2012-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Carranza Jımenez, Dıego Camılo (January 15, 2020). "Investigan en México a 426 sacerdotes por casos de abuso sexual de menores". aa.com.tr (in Spanish). Bogota. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  22. ↑ "El cura abusador acecha poco a poco a los niños, narra monaguillo víctima". El Universal (in Spanish). 17 February 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  23. ↑ Villalpando, Rubén (February 23, 2021). "Hallan culpable a cura de Ciudad Juárez que violó a una niña de 8 años". jornada.com.mx (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Detienen a ingeniero de sistemas por tráfico de pornografía infantil". Peru 21 (in Spanish). 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  25. ↑ "Capturaron a pedófilo cuando fotografiaba a menor de 11 años". Diario La Republica (in Spanish). 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  26. ↑ "Capturan a pedófilo que era laico consagrado". Terra (in Spanish). 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-06-29. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  27. ↑ "Iglesia Católica venezolana atiende denuncias de abusos". The San Diego Union-Tribune (in Spanish). 6 July 2022.
  28. ↑ Herrero, Ana Vanessa (2022-06-21). "In Venezuela, priests convicted of abuse have returned to ministry". The Washington Post .
  29. ↑ "Piden investigar denuncia de restitución de curas en Venezuela tras delitos sexuales". France 24 . 2022-06-23.
  30. ↑ "Washington Post: sacerdotes condenados en Venezuela por abuso sexual infantil han vuelto a las iglesias". Runrunes . 2022-06-21.
  31. ↑ "Iglesia católica venezolana revela abusos sexuales por parte de sus miembros". Swissinfo . 2022-07-06.
  32. ↑ "Lo que dijo y lo que no dijo la Iglesia venezolana sobre el escándalo de abuso a menores". PanAm Post . 8 July 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.