PARAGUAY
GlobalPost
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — It’s been a weird week in Paraguay.
Early on Tuesday, GlobalPost published this story about rogue priest Carlos Urrutigoity, an Argentine national long accused of abusing young men who was recently promoted to second-in-command of the diocese of Ciudad del Este.
By Thursday evening, the story had caused a deep schism in Paraguay’s Catholic Church, with the country’s two most powerful bishops trading jabs and insults over the controversial priest. In Asuncion, the country’s capital, the archbishop was defending claims of homosexuality from the bishop of Ciudad del Este while simultaneously calling on the Vatican to fully investigate Urrutigoity.
Meanwhile, after Pope Francis announced a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual abuse last week, Paraguayan activists involved in the Urrutigoity scandal question how long the problem priest will remain in service and in contact with young people.
Let’s break down the week’s events:
Tuesday, June 3: GlobalPost publishes investigation at 1:19 a.m.*
GlobalPost publishes this story, the result of an investigation into Carlos Urrutigoity, who was accused in a 2002 lawsuit of abusing at least two young men in the diocese of Scranton, Penn.
Urrutigoity, who resurfaced in 2008 in rural Paraguay, was promoted last year to the position of Vicar General of the diocese of Ciudad Del Este.
Among the most shocking elements of the story: a March 15 statement from the bishop of Scranton calling Urrutigoity a “serious threat to young people.”
Urrutigoity denies ever molesting anyone, maintaining that he’s the victim of a smear campaign.
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