News of abuse

ABUSE SCANDAL

Harvey Weinstein trial reaches closing stages with jury set to decide fate

14-02-2020 14:01 The weeks-long trial against US movie mogul Harvey Weinstein nears the end with the prosecution making closing arguments in today's trial.

CHURCH ABUSE SCANDALS

Deaf Próvolo child abuse victims accuse Pope Francis of inaction

13-02-2020 14:49 The victims, represented by the global organisation Ending Clergy Abuse, have requested a public audience with the Argentine pontiff.

CHURCH SCANDALS

Pope defrocks Argentine priest for sexual misconduct, abuse of power

10-02-2020 22:57 Pontiff moves against Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, after a four-year investigation determined he had sex with adults under his authority, absolved them of the sin during confession and otherwise abused his power.

Catholic Church Abuse

Pope defrocks fellow Argentine priest Roberto Yannuzzi

05-02-2020 15:27 Yannuzzi stands accused of abusing his power by having sex with adults under his authority.

ABUSE SCANDAL

Court clears French cardinal who failed to report abusive priest

30-01-2020 17:00 Court in Lyon rules Cardinal Philippe Barbarin should not be held criminally liable for his lack of action over behavior of Priest Preynat, who had allegedly abused dozen of boys scouts during the 1980s and the 1990s.

CHURCH SCANDAL

Church sex abuse scandal deepens with La Plata priest’s suicide

21-12-2019 10:36 The recent suicide of Eduardo Lorenzo and the alleged cover-up surrounding possible decades of abuse sparks renewed discussion about the crisis of the Catholic Church in Argentina and around the world.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Vatican office lifts veil, revealing vast caseload of abuse claims

20-12-2019 17:28 Unprecedented numbers of reports flood the Vatican's central offices. The tribunal is already straining to keep up, and cases from a slough of new regions indicate that this recent surge is only the tip of the iceberg.

Church Sex Abuse Scandal

Pope Francis strips 'pontificial secrecy' from abuse-related cases in the Church

17-12-2019 13:55 While documentation from the Church's in-house legal proceedings will still not become public, the reform removes any excuse to not cooperate with legitimate legal requests from prosecutors, police or other civil authorities.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Legal reckoning: New abuse suits could cost Catholic Church over US$4 billion

02-12-2019 12:59 Catholic dioceses in the United States are facing a new wave of sexual abuse lawsuits after multiple states extended or suspended the statute of limitations to allow claims stretching back decades.

GENDER VIOLENCE

Thousands march to ‘shine a light’ on femicide and gender violence

30-11-2019 11:01 In Mendoza and across the country this week, demonstrators rallied to call for justice and and end to violence against women

by Carly Graf

PRÓVOLO ABUSE TRIAL

‘Survivors, not victims’ – ex-Próvolo students finally find justice in court

30-11-2019 10:50 Celebrations in Mendoza as two Catholic priests accused of sexually assaulting and raping students at Antonio Próvolo Institute for the deaf are sentenced to over 40 years in prison.

by Carly Graf

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Bishop appears at court in Orán for hearing on abuse charges

27-11-2019 16:57 Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta returns to Argentina from the Vatican to attend hearing on sexual abuse charges.

Church Sex Abuse Scandal

Vatican still refusing to expel priests condemned in Próvolo case

27-11-2019 12:41 Convictions and sentencing of two priests for rape and sexual abuse of minors reignites controversy around Holy See's protection of members of the Catholic Church facing such allegations, many of whom continue to be supported by the institution.

by Mariana Sarramea

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

Próvolo victims hope priests' sentences send Pope a message

27-11-2019 07:25 "This is a watershed case for society, justice, the victims and also for the Church," warns bishop, as victims demand Pope Francis take note of historic abuse case at Provólo Institute in Luján de Cuyo.

TUCUMÁN SENATOR

Alperovich requests leave of absence from Senate after abuse allegations

26-11-2019 16:02 Senator José Alperovich continues to deny all charges of sexual abuse against him, but requests leave of absence, saying he needs time to ‘repair his honour.’

'PRÓVOLO' CASE

Priests who sexually abused deaf children get 40-year jail terms

25-11-2019 14:46 Mendoza court sentences Nicola Corradi to 42 years in prison and Horacio Corbacho to 45 years for sexually abusing deaf children at the Antonio Próvolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children.

CHURCH ABUSE SCANDALS

Verdict nears for Próvolo priests as Church struggles to deal with abuse scandals

25-11-2019 08:58 Pope Francis’ homeland faces a complicated week of reckoning with the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church.

CATHOLIC CHURCH & ABUSE

Próvolo case: Legal team expects justice for Church sex abuse victim

23-11-2019 11:38 In this exclusive report from Mendoza, Carly Graf meets lawyers from Xumek, the NGO representing plaintiffs in the shocking ‘Próvolo’ scandal, in which two priests stand accused of the rape and sexual assault of minors at an institute for deaf children in Mendoza.

by Carly Graf

Ex-Tucumán governor

Relative accuses Senator José Alperovich of rape, sexual abuse

22-11-2019 20:31 Explosive allegations – stretching over period lasting more than a year – against three-time former governor of Tucumán Province spark immediate calls for his resignation.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Argentine bishop accused of abuse slams prosecutors for seeking arrest order

22-11-2019 10:26 Gustavo Zanchetta has been formally accused of "aggravated continuous sexual abuse” of two seminarians, charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

TRIAL IN MENDOZA

Verdicts for Próvolo priests accused of sexually abusing deaf children due Monday

20-11-2019 13:30 Lawyers ask for sentences of up to 50 years in the 'Próvolo' abuse case, in which two priests and a gardener are accused of rape and sexual assault of minors at institute for deaf children in Mendoza.

HUMAN RIGHTS

UN votes to launch new probe into Venezuela rights abuses

27-09-2019 09:41 Resolution tabled by more than a dozen countries from Latin America, including Argentina,adopted by the 47-member council. It called for the UN's top rights body to "dispatch urgently an independent international fact-finding mission" to Venezuela.

TEENAGE MOTHERS

Adolescent birth rate in Argentina has not dropped for 20 years

25-09-2019 07:30 Every year, 2,500 babies are born to those aged under 15 years old in Argentina. It's a figure that has remained stable for at least two decades.

by Mariana Sarramea

COURTS

Jonathan Fabbro handed 14 years in jail for sexual abuse of niece

29-08-2019 14:58 Former Boca Juniors and River Plate star found guilty of at least five counts of "severely outrageous sexual abuse” against his niece and goddaughter between 2015 and 2017.

CHURCH SCANDAL

Priests accused of abusing deaf students stand trial

10-08-2019 12:31 Nicola Corradi, 83, and Horacio Corbacho, 59, are charged with alleged crimes including rape and sexual abuse against deaf minors.

CHURCH ABUSE SCANDAL

Victims speak out as Próvolo Institute abuse trial begins in Mendoza

10-08-2019 12:17 Some 20 ex-students say they were sexually abused, including cases of rape, by two priests between 2004 and 2016. On Monday, two Catholic priests stood in the dock in Mendoza, charged with 28 alleged crimes, including rape and sexual abuse.

MENDOZA TRIAL

'They're demonic': the deaf victims of Argentina's paedophile priests speak out

05-08-2019 12:03 Victims testimony shakes trial of Catholic priests in Mendoza accused of sexual abuse.

SEXUAL ABUSE

Ex-boxing champion Carlos Baldomir given 18 years for sexual abuse of daughter

31-07-2019 13:26 Former welterweight champion unanimously convicted of "repeated sexual abuse" of a minor in the court.

TRIAL ENDS

Rock star sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexual abuse of minors

12-07-2019 17:36 Cristian Aldana, the leader of local band El Otro Yo, handed more than two decades behind bars after being found guilty of the sexual abuse of minors.

ABUSE SCANDAL IN CHURCH

Bishop close to Pope Francis formally accused of abuse in Argentina for first time

07-06-2019 17:52 The prosecutor's office in Salta Province said Friday that prosecutor Mónica Viazzi had accused Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta of "aggravated continuous sexual abuse."

SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

Pope: Argentine bishop accused of abuse is now facing Vatican trial

28-05-2019 17:27 Pontiff says he received the results of a preliminary investigation into Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta two weeks ago and ordered the case be handed over for trial by a Church tribunal.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis fights for Ireland to keep the faith

25-08-2018 11:34 Once a bastion of Roman Catholicism, the nation is unrecognisable from 40 years ago, when divorce was banned and same-sex marriage unheard of.

VATICAN MEETS ‘METOO’

Nuns denounce Catholic priests who abused them

28-07-2018 11:28 Buoyed by the #MeToo movement and the growing recognition that adults can be victims of sexual abuse when there is an imbalance of power in a relationship, sisters are going public after years of inaction by Church leaders.

MOGUL SURRENDERS TO POLICE

Weinstein charged with rape, sexual offences

26-05-2018 11:44 Hollywood producer arraigned on rape and other charges in the first criminal prosecution to result from the wave of allegations against him that sparked a national reckoning over sexual misconduct.

CATHOLIC CHURCH ABUSE SCANDAL

Fourteen priests linked to Chile sex abuse stripped of duties

23-05-2018 19:17 A priest said in that report aired last week that the group formed a sex abuse ring a decade ago, and engaged in sex acts with no regard for whether were minors or of age.

Justo José Ilarraz

Argentine priest jailed for 25 years for child molestation

22-05-2018 11:19 Ilarraz, 57, carried out the abuse at a diocesan school in the city of Parana, 600 kilometres north of Buenos Aires.

AT THE VATICAN

Chile's bishops resign en masse over sex abuse cover-up

18-05-2018 12:18 The bishops announced at the end of an emergency Vatican summit that all 31 active bishops in Rome had signed a document offering to resign.

FOLLOWING CONTROVERSIAL CHILE TRIP

Pope receives Chilean bishops over sex abuse scandal

15-05-2018 10:16 The visit comes two weeks after Francis held private meetings with three victims of Chilean paedophile priest Fernando Karadima, and promised to adopt “adequate and lasting” measures to stop child sex abuse within the Catholic church.

ABUSE AND THE CHURCH

Sexual abuse scandals deepen Chile mistrust in Catholic church

04-05-2018 08:17 Chile is witnessing a growing rift between the people and the Church, sharpened by a string of sexual abuse scandals.

FIVE ATTACKED 18-YEAR-OLD

Anger erupts in Spain after five accused of gang rape jailed for sexual abuse

26-04-2018 17:41 The five members of "La Manada" — or "The Pack," after the nickname the group gave themselves — were found guilty of sexual abuse, which doesn't involve violence or intimidation under Spain's criminal code.

Chile's clerical sex abuse scandal

Abuse whistleblower: I'll tell Pope to get rid of 'toxic' bishops

25-04-2018 16:39 "I believe [Francis] is a good man and I believe he wants to do the right thing," says Juan Carlos Crux. "He needs to hold them accountable."

CHILD ABUSE SCANDAL

German delegation visits Chile over Nazi paedophile sect

25-04-2018 08:10 Colonia Dignidad was a strictly-governed commune founded in 1961 by a group of German immigrants led by former Nazi medic Paul Schaefer, who had fled Germany to escape child abuse charges.

ABUSE AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope admits to 'grave errors' in handling of Chile sex abuse scandal

11-04-2018 16:20 Francis summons all of Chile's bishops to the Vatican for an emergency summit to discuss the scandal, which has badly tarnished his reputation and that of the Chilean Church.

ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

Shocking claims emerge as child abuse scandal in sport widens

07-04-2018 10:30 The case has now snowballed into a giant scandal, with allegations now coming to light involving River Plate, Temperley and Argentina’s gymnastics squad.

SEXUAL ABUSE IN SPORTS

Argentina's gymnastic squad faces criminal complaint over sexual abuse allegations

04-04-2018 11:03 The complaint comes just days after allegations that three youth players at River Plate football club were sexually abused and that a child prostitution ring operated at Independiente Club.

ANOTHER CHILD SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

Three youth players sexually abused at River: report

02-04-2018 13:37 Following the recent revelations of a child prostitution ring at the Independiente football club, the iconic River Plate club is now in a similar position.

CHURCH CHALLENGES

Five years on, Pope Francis under fire over sex abuse scandals

16-03-2018 15:30 The scandals have haunted his papacy.