ROME (ITALY)
Crux
February 10, 2018
By Claire Giangravè
After six months in a Sicilian prison, the leader of a lay Catholic association charged with having sexually abused at least six underage girls has been released and allowed to await trial under house arrest.
In previous reporting, Crux has followed the story of Piero Alfio Capuana, a banker turner charismatic religious leader of the “Catholic Culture and Environment Association,” or ACCA, a lay association not officially recognized by the Church, that counted more than 5,000 members in the highly devout Sicilian inland near Catania.
Over the span of 25 years, Capuana, 73, who was regarded as an incarnation of the Archangel Gabriel by his followers, now stands charged with sexually abusing young girls between the ages of 11 and 16 with the help of three of his “Apostles,” meaning aides, who allegedly coaxed victims into interpreting his sexual advances as “pure love” and “love from above.”
In August of last year, an investigation conducted by the Italian police led to the arrest of Capuana, who was kept in isolation inside the Cavadonna prison in Syracuse until a review court found Feb. 8 that there are insufficient requirements for his remaining behind bars awaiting trial.
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