Journalist surprised by bishops’ support after controversial lawsuit

ROME (ITALY)
Catholic News Service

Apr 11, 2019

By Junno Arocho Esteves

After a court ruled in favor of an archbishop’s defamation lawsuit against him, Peruvian journalist Pedro Salinas said he was “pleasantly surprised” by a message of support from the country’s bishops.

Peruvian Archbishop José Eguren Anselmi of Piura won the case against Salinas April 8, but bishops in the country distanced themselves from the lawsuit and said the church needs the help of journalists and survivors of clergy sex abuse to overcome the current crisis.

“The Holy Father has praised and thanked the world of journalists who, through their investigations, contribute to denouncing abuses, punishing the perpetrators and assisting victims. The pope underlined that the church needs their help in the difficult task of fighting against this evil,” the Peruvian bishops’ conference said in a statement April 10.

In a message to Catholic News Service April 11, Salinas said he was surprised by the bishops’ message “because it is unprecedented.”

“We now know that someone (Eguren) is going against the current guidelines established by Pope Francis,” Salinas told CNS. “In soccer terms, we could say that the Sodalitium Archbishop José Antonio Eguren of Piura was discovered in an offside position,” he added. “An unforgivable offside, if you ask me.”

Salinas and fellow journalist Paola Ugaz co-authored a book titled, “Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados” (“Half Monks, Half Soldiers”), which detailed the psychological and sexual abuse, as well as corporal punishment and extreme exercises that young members of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae were forced to endure.

The Peruvian journalist suffered physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Luis Fernando Figari, who founded Sodalitium, a Catholic movement, in 1971.

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