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Argentinian deaf victims of clergy abuse demand justice from the Pope

2020-02-20T20:17:50.802Z



Three deaf Argentinian victims of sexual abuse committed by priests in specialized Catholic institutes of Argentina launched Thursday, February 20, a cry of pain and anger from St. Peter's Square to seek justice and reparation from their compatriot, Pope Francis .

We have suffered a lot. We need a law that forces the Vatican to stop protecting itself. We deaf people have been abused by priests and we need that to change, ”said Daniel Sgardelis, 45, on his way to St. Peter's Square in Rome, in sign language.

Read also: Pedophilia, NGOs ask the Pope zero tolerance in Argentina

" They have committed too much sexual abuse and it must stop. The pope is there quietly at the Vatican without giving us proof of a change, ”also deplored Ezequiel Villalonga, 19, thanks to a translator.

" Why did we come to Rome? To end sexual abuse everywhere, ”says Ezequiel, brandishing a portrait of his executioner.

Erica Labeguerie, whose 26-year-old sister became a victim when she attended one of the two Provolo Catholic Institutes for the Deaf in Argentina, explains that her fight is to prevent these horrors from being repeated in other parts of the world.

The drama of these disabled people is all the more shocking since they are particularly vulnerable people who have been entrusted to religious for their education.

No meeting with the Pope

The victims unsuccessfully requested a meeting with the Pope during their stay in Rome from February 20 to 22. " We are very disappointed, " recognizes Erica Labeguerie, recounting in a choppy voice the journey of her family.

" This struggle serves to break the silence, to ensure that the evidence is not hidden, that the Vatican collaborates, " she slips. The victims, accompanied by their lawyers, accuse the Vatican and the Pope of concealment. They demand justice, punishment and economic reparation.

The pope has the power to act and to prevent this from happening again. We are not talking about the past but the present that many are still living ”, assures the young woman.

Read also: Argentina: a pedophile priest sentenced to 17 years in prison

According to lawyer Sergio Salinas, of the Argentinian humanitarian organization Xumex, " the Argentine Pope did nothing to investigate the victims or to repair them ".

We need actions. It is not enough to lift the pontifical secret. The Church must collaborate. The pope said nothing, he did not even apologize publicly. Which is not enough for the victims anyway, ”said another lawyer, Lucas Lecour.

In November, two priests were sentenced to more than 40 years in prison for raping these children for years in the specialized institute Provolo in Mendoza (western Argentina). Nicola Corradi, an Italian parish priest who has lived in Argentina since 1970, has been sentenced to 42 years in prison, and the Argentinian Horacio Corbacho to 45 years.

Read also: Numerous cases of pedophilia plague Argentine football

Nicola Corradi was reported to the Vatican in 2009 for sexually abusing deaf children at a Provolo institute in Verona, northern Italy, before being sent to Argentina fifty years ago. This is why deaf Italians from Verona will participate in a vigil with their Argentinian misfortune companions, Saturday in the gardens of the castle of Saint-Ange, a few steps from Saint-Pierre square.

Before coming to Rome, the Argentine victims, who consider that they had been " tortured " by their attackers, had gone to Geneva to the UN Committee against Torture and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-02-20

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