PUERTO RICO
News Times
By DANICA COTO, Associated Press
Updated 5:41 pm, Thursday, February 20, 2014
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s justice secretary said Thursday that he has ordered an investigation into alleged sex abuse allegations involving another one of the island’s Roman Catholic dioceses.
The allegations originate from the Diocese of Mayaguez in Puerto Rico’s western region, and the announcement comes just days after government prosecutors said they were investigating similar allegations against six priests in the Diocese of Arecibo who have been defrocked.
“It’s apparently a much greater problem than previously thought,” Justice Secretary Cesar Miranda told reporters.
The Diocese of Mayaguez said in a statement that it has handled four cases of alleged sex abuse.
The most recent case dates from 2013 and is currently pending before the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles such accusations. The priest accused in that case has been removed from the ministry, the diocese said.
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