ARGENTINA
BishopAccountability.org
[Translated into English by BishopAccountability.org. To see the original letter in Spanish, click here. To see videos, photos, and background information on Argentine survivors, click here.]
Buenos Aires, July 5, 2014
Pope Francis:
We are writing to you because, on the occasion of your upcoming meeting with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, no Argentine survivor was invited to attend.
This fact pains us, considering that you must know about the cases here that have given rise to many years of struggle by victims, and about the new cases that have surfaced.
On a number of occasions you’ve pledged zero tolerance when confronting these cases; and so, this letter appeals to your sense of Truth and Justice.
As survivors of child sex abuse by clergy, we urge you to:
-Issue a decree that establishes as a criminal offense the commission and cover-up of child sex abuse by clergy. To that end, there must be an investigation of the bishops, archbishops, cardinals, monsignors and religious who have transferred pedophile priests.
-We also demand the nullification of the statute of limitations for filing a criminal complaint to the archdiocese, since, in Argentina, [the time within which to bring legal proceedings] is restricted to 20 years, dating to when the abuse was committed.
-In many instances the victims suffer from an emotional block and are unable to speak. When, finally, they do break the silence, no one believes them and the statutes of limitations in their cases have elapsed. We demand that they be believed: part of their emotional healing is being able to publicly denounce their assailant and his accomplices.
-You must correct the dangerous weakness in church law that allows bishops to keep [priests] in ministry. Two such cases involve Monseñor Ricardo Faifer, who covered up for Reverend Domingo Pacheco, and Monseñor Héctor Agüer, who covered up Reverend Ricardo Giménez. Not only these priests, but all other priests around the globe who have abused children. Case after case has seen repeated, systematic cover-up by both local church officials and the Vatican.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.