El Salvador church suspends priest over sexual abuse of minor

EL SALVADOR
Yahoo! News

By Lara Rebello | International Business Times

The Roman Catholic Church of El Salvador has announced that it has suspended a priest after he acknowledged having sexually abused a girl in the 1980s. Father Jesus Delgado is accused of abusing the minor over a period of eight years, from the time she was nine, right up to the age of 17.

The victim, who is now 42, has only asked that Delgado “leave the priesthood and apologise” for his wrongdoings.

According to the La Prensa Grafica newspaper, the country’s Secretary of Social Inclusion, Vanda Pignato brought the issue to the attention of the church in October after the results of the government’s findings were released.

The head of external affairs for the archdiocese, Monsignor Rafael Urrutia said Delgado has acknowledged the crime and has expressed his willingness to seek forgiveness from the victim. Urrutia confirmed that after an internal investigation, Delgado was suspended from all priestly functions. He added, “We will not cover up cases of abuse of minors.”

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