ARGENTINA
GlobalPost
AFP
An Argentine diocese apologized for abuse committed by a pedophile priest on Friday and, in a first for the country’s Catholic church, announced compensation for his victims.
Father Jose Mercau, who is serving a 14-year sentence, was pastor of the St. John the Baptist church in San Isidro diocese on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and ran a home for destitute children.
“The diocese of San Isidro, and in particular the bishop and his priests, publicly apologize to the young people who were affected by Father Jose Mercau’s actions,” the Catholic news agency AICA said.
The agency also reported that the office of San Isidro’s bishop, Monsignor Jorge Ojea, was willing to compensate the four males who filed a complaint against the priest.
Father Maximo Jurcinovic, a spokesman for the bishop, told news channel C5N that a financial settlement had been reached and that the diocese would sell some of its properties to fund it.
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