Page 5 - MIN SJA 24 DEC 2016

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 24 december 2016

Argentina investigates alleged sex abuse at school

A. CALATRAVA taking measures to protect rapes, fondling and oral sex alleged victims told AP she case and the Vatican de-
N. WINFIELD children and prevent sexu- allegedly committed by witnessed how a girl was clined to comment on Cor-
Associated Press al abuse. the priests took place in the raped by one priest while radi’s arrest.
LUJAN DE CUYO, Argentina But at least 24 students of bathrooms, dorms, garden the other one forced her Advocates of sex abuse
(AP) — The children told the Provolo institute in Ar- and a basement at the to give him oral sex. The Ar- victims by priests question
prosecutors the two Roman gentina have now come school in Lujan de Cuyo, a gentine courts said the al- how Francis could have
Catholic priests repeatedly been unaware of Corradi’s
raped them by an image alleged misdeeds, given
of the Virgin Mary inside he was publicly named by
the small school chapel in the Italian victims starting in
remote northwestern Ar- 2009 and most recently in
gentina. Only their torment- 2014.
ers would have heard their “No other pope has spoken
cries because the other as passionately about the
children at the school were evil of child sex abuse as
deaf. Francis. No other pope has
The clerical sex abuse invoked ‘zero tolerance’ as
scandal unfolding at the often. No other pope has
Antonio Provolo Institute promised accountability
for hearing impaired chil- of church superiors,” said
dren in Mendoza province Anne Barrett Doyle, co-
would be shocking enough director of BishopAccount-
on its own. ability, an online resource
Except that dozens of stu- about clerical abuse.
dents in the Provolo Insti- On Dec. 11, the pope ap-
tute’s school in Italy were peared in a video using
similarly abused for de- sign language to wish deaf
cades, some of whom al- people worldwide a Merry
legedly by the same priest Christmas — a gesture that
who now stands formally fell particularly flat in Ar-
charged of raping and mo- Handcuffed to a wheelchair, priest Nicola Corradi and the Rev. Horacio Corbacho, left, are es- gentina as Catholics strug-
lesting young deaf Argen- corted to a courtroom in Mendoza, Argentina, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. In late November, police gle with the enormity of the
tines. arrested Corradi and Corbacho, after several students came forward with shocking childhood Provolo scandal.
And the Vatican knew tales of the sexual abuse suffered over years at a school for hearing impaired children, in remote “Either he lives outside of
northwestern Argentina.
about the Rev. Nicola Cor- (AP Photo/Emmanuel Rodriguez Villegas) reality or this is enormously
radi since at least 2009, cynical ... it’s a mockery,”
when the Italian Provolo stu- said Carlos Lombardi, an
dents went public with tales forward seeking justice for city about 620 miles (1,000 leged victims in the case in attorney who specializes in
of shocking abuse against the abuse they say they kilometers) northwest of that country could not be canon law.
the most vulnerable of chil- suffered at the hands of Buenos Aires. publicly identified and AP The Provolo case first ex-
dren and named names. Corradi, 82, another priest, The school has “a little does not identify people ploded in Italy in 2009,
While the Vatican ordered the Rev. Horacio Corba- chapel with an image of who may have been sexu- when the Italian victims
an investigation and sanc- cho, 55, and three other the Virgin and some chairs ally assaulted unless they went public with stories of
tioned four accused priests, men. The five were arrested where the kids would get voluntarily identify them- abuse after what they said
Corradi apparently never in late November by police confession and receive the selves. were three useless years of
was sanctioned for his al- who raided the school in communion. That’s where “They always said it was a negotiations with the dio-
leged crimes in Italy. Argentina’s Mendoza prov- some of the acts were hap- game: ‘Let’s go play, let’s cese of Verona, where the
The Verona diocese apolo- ince and found magazines pening,” former lead pros- go play’ and they would institute has its Italy head-
gized to the Italian students featuring naked women ecutor Fabrizio Sidoti told take us to the girls’ bath- quarters.
in 2012. After the students and about $34,000 in Cor- The Associated Press of the room,” said one of the The 67 victims alleged sex-
again named Corradi as radi’s room. stories he heard from the women who claims that she ual abuse, pedophilia and
an abuser living in Francis’ All the suspects are being alleged victims after the was abused at the school corporal punishment at the
native Argentina in a 2014 held at a jail in Mendoza scandal broke. in Argentina. hands of priests, brothers
letter to the pope and the and have not spoken pub- Children from other regions The prosecutor is expecting and lay religious from the
Verona bishop, the Vatican licly since their arrest. Cor- of Argentina who lived at more than 20 other people 1950s to the 1980s. At the
still took no action. radi’s attorney, Pablo Kletzl, the dorms were said to be to provide testimony and time, 14 of the victims wrote
Though this year a Vatican on Friday declined to com- especially vulnerable and more people claiming sworn statements and vid-
official said Pope Francis ment on the case. targeted often. abuse to come forward. eotaped their testimony
wanted to assure the vic- Victims and prosecutors The tales they have told Pope Francis has not spo- detailing the abuse they
tims that the church was say the anal and vaginal are harrowing: One of the ken publicly about the suffered. q