El Salvador archbishop apologizes over priest sex abuse case

SAN SALVADOR (EL SALVADOR)
Associated Press

Nov 4, 2019

El Salvador’s top Roman Catholic cleric apologized Sunday for the alleged sexual abuse by a priest of an unidentified minor 25 years ago.

“We have apologized to the victim and now I am repeating it publicly, and we also ask for forgiveness from the community for the scandal that this has caused,” San Salvador Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas said in a news conference after celebrating Mass.

“At the same time we pray for the victim and also for the priest,” he said.

The victim was received by the Archdiocese’s Commission on Childhood Protection, which according to Escobar, “found merit in their accusation and suggested that the proper canonical process be initiated.”

The priest, identified as Leopoldo Sosa Tolentino, was suspended, the archbishop said.

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