An Argentine bishop considered close to the pope, and who was an adviser for the management of Vatican assets, denied on Monday accusations of sexual abuse when he was bishop of Oran (northwestern Argentina), in the first day of his trial.
Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta, 57, appeared behind closed doors in the court of Oran, 1,700 km from Buenos Aires, diocese of which he was bishop from 2013, then appointed by Pope Francis, until his resignation in 2017.
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Bishop Zanchetta is being prosecuted for
"simple sexual abuse aggravated by the fact of being committed by a minister of religion"
, according to a press release from the judicial authority of the province of Salta.
The lawsuits follow complaints filed in 2018 by at least two seminarians.
The clergyman
"denied the accusations and explained that he had a good and healthy relationship with all the seminarians",
and that during the exchanges with them, which sometimes focused on their family problems or their life course,
"he there was never any sexual connotation".
Gustavo Zanchetta also referred to the file of the canonical investigation carried out on the facts and affirmed
"that three priests had told him that the complaint against him was a matter of revenge"
, continued the judicial authority in its press release.
After the accused's initial testimony, the court heard, in his absence, two plaintiffs who reiterated their statements made during the investigation.
One of them explained that the prelate
“had made romantic proposals to him and asked for 'massages'”.
Bishop Zanchetta had resigned in 2017 from his office as bishop of Oran, a departure linked to
"very tense relations with the priests of the diocese",
the Vatican explained later in 2019, at the time of the opening of the
"At the time of his resignation, there were accusations of authoritarianism against him but no accusations of sexual abuse,"
the Vatican said in a statement.
Two other proceedings are pending against Bishop Zanchetta, for his management and abuse of power during his period in Oran.
At the end of 2017, Bishop Zanchetta was appointed by Pope Francis, his compatriot, assessor at the Administration of the Heritage of the Apostolic See (Apsa), which manages the real estate of the Vatican.
The Vatican had also pointed out that at the time of this appointment, “no accusation of sexual abuse had emerged”, these only appearing in 2018. Rome had then indicated that Bishop Zanchetta
“would refrain from working »
to Apsa during the investigation phase.
The trial, which is expected to hear nearly 40 witnesses, is due to last until Friday.