ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald
In an interview addressing scandal in Mendoza, Father Dante Simón talks of kids who ‘fall in love with a priest’ and are rejected
A Vatican envoy sent to investigate a shocking paedophilia cover-up at the Antonio Próvolo Institute for deaf children in Mendoza province — where priests and employees have been accused of the systematic sexual abuse of minors over decades — has sparked outrage after describing some of the children who laid claims as “spiteful.”
Father Dante Simón, one of the two envoys sent by the Vatican to probe the scandal, suggested that some accusations have been dismissed because they were invented by “spiteful” boys who had fallen in love with priests and were rejected. Despite the fact that more than 60 former students have come forward with allegations involving sexual abuse at the institute, Simón chose to highlight “dismissed” cases.
“A few (cases) have been dismissed,” the priest told the Mendoza Post. “Because there are people who are spiteful. For example, a girl or a boy falls in love with a priest, and he doesn’t respond back. The boy can be very spiteful like a woman can. So, they denounce him (the priest),” Simón told reporter Martín Tejerina.
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.