'Argentine Pedophile Priest Barred from Work'

Sowetan SOUTH AFRICA
September 25, 2013

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/world/2013/09/25/argentine-pedophile-priest-barred-from-work

Picture taken from www.en.tengrinews.kz

A high-profile Argentine priest who began a 15-year prison sentence for pedophilia this week has been barred from priestly work and his case sent to the Vatican, church officials said Tuesday.

Julio Cesar Grassi, 57, who was on provisional release since a 2009 trial, began his sentence after an appeal court in Buenos Aires upheld his conviction.

Grassi was found guilty of abusing a 15-year-old boy who had been living at the Felices los Ninos (Happy are the Children) foundation in Hurlingham, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Buenos Aires during the 1990s.

Two other victims later came forward with their own stories of abuse by the priest.

Tuesday, the diocese of Moron said Grassi now was barred from priestly duties.

"The diocese of Moron, in line with its rights to do so, applied the disciplinary sanction of barring him from priestly work until his case is settled," a statement from the diocese said.

"An investigation, as well as a report on the trial and behavior of Father Grassi have been sent to the Holy See" for review, it added.

Grassi, who was well connected politically in the 1990s, gained media exposure soliciting donations from actors, newscasters and politicians for the foundation, which cared for some 6,000 children.

The bishop of Moron Monday expressed "deep concern" over the case, calling it "complex and painful." The statement also noted the priest could still appeal to the national supreme court.

Pope Francis, who has been criticized for not acting more decisively against pedophilia when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, was at the helm of the church there when Grassi was convicted in 2009.

Argentina's population of 40.7 million is 69 percent Catholic, according to data from the Latin American Episcopal Conference.