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  U.S. Group Demands Mexican President Take Action against Priests Accused of Abuse

By E. Eduardo Castillo
Union-Tribune [Mexico]
December 6, 2005

MEXICO CITY – A U.S. group representing people allegedly sexually abused by Catholic priests demanded Tuesday that President Vicente Fox do more to bring accused Mexican clergy to justice.

Leaders of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, are visiting Mexico this week to pressure the government.

The group wrote to Fox a year ago, urging him to step up efforts to prosecute accused priests, among them the Rev. Nicolas Aguilar, who has been charged in California with 19 felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child.

Aguilar worked in Los Angeles in 1987 and later served as a priest in Mexico. He disappeared after similar accusations arose against him in this country. The group, which held a news conference Tuesday, said Fox never responded to its letter.

"We want President Fox to assure us there will be justice and that any case against a priest will be treated the same as any case against a person who abuses children," said Eric Barragan, the group's spokesman.

The group wrote Fox again recently and plans to hand-deliver a third letter this week to Los Pinos, Fox's residence.

"We are deeply troubled that, Father Nicolas Aguilar has not been prosecuted for the crimes he committed against children, both in Mexico and in the USA," the group said in a statement. "We fear that for decades U.S. church officials have been using Mexico as a dumping ground for predatory priests."

Dario Ortiz, a spokesman for Mexico's council of bishops, said Tuesday that church officials had no immediate comment.

SNAP said as many as 60 alleged victims from both countries have come forward with cases against Aguilar.

Joaquin Aguilar, 25, who has no relation to the priest, told a news conference he was abused by Aguilar in 1994 when he was 12 years old. But despite reporting it to authorities, he said nothing had been done.

His family was ostracized by authorities and people in their parish, said Aguilar, adding that the ordeal led to his problems with drugs and alcohol.

"I am just asking for one thing: justice," he said.

Barragan said it's unfortunate that Mexican church officials continue to ignore victims.

"We are sad that church officials in Mexico still refuse to reach out to victims, like Joaquin and others abused by predatory priests, and to inform parishioners of known and suspected molesters in the church," Barragan said.

The group said that after only a few days in Mexico, it has "compiled a list of more than 40 priests that have been convicted, accused or suspected of molesting children and have either allegedly traveled and/or abused children in Mexico."

"Worse, we are convinced that church officials in Mexico and the U.S. continue to needlessly place numerous children in the church at risk of these known and suspected child predators," the group said in a statement.