BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA)
Associated Press
May 7, 2019
By Almudena Calatrava
International and Argentine activists on Monday called on Pope Francis to ensure that his “zero tolerance” pledge against sexual abuses by clergy is enforced in his homeland and demanded a trial for those accused of raping deaf and mute children at a Catholic school.
Prosecutors say that members of the clergy abused at least 20 children at the Provolo Institute in Mendoza province. The case has caused a worldwide uproar and more than a dozen people face charges.
The Argentine group Church Without Abuses and the international organizations Ending Clergy Abuse and BishopAccountability.org met with alleged victims Monday and criticized the lack of justice in a case that began more than two years ago.
At least 20 children say they were abused at the Provolo Institute by priest Nicola Corradi, priest Horaio Corbacho and three other men, who were arrested in 2016.
Dozens of students at another branch of the institute in Italy say they were similarly abused for decades, some allegedly by Corradi.
Both men are facing a preliminary hearing in Argentina, but the activists complain the process is taking too long.
“We came to Mendoza to show solidarity with the Provolo victims and echo their cry for justice,” said Anne Barrett Doyle of the online resource Bishop Accountability.
“Pope Francis owes them a personal apology for his complicity and silence. The Italian victims warned him for years that Corradi and others were working with children in Argentina. The pope did nothing.”
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