The 10 years of Pope Francis: on the eve of the anniversary an unexpected visit makes Bergoglio uncomfortable

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The Argentine Sebastián Cuattromo, abused by a priest when he was 13 years old, in a Catholic school in Caballito, traveled to the Vatican. This he said.

An Argentine, who was sexually abused by a religious in Buenos Aires, denounced in a press conference of the association “Adults for the Rights of the Child” at the headquarters of foreign correspondents in Italy, that before and after being elected Pope , Jorge Bergoglio “has ignored my requests to receive me” despite the fact that the abuser was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Sebastián Cuattromo (47) explained that he was sexually abused when he was 13 years old, in 1989 and was a student at the Marianista School in the Caballito neighborhood, in the Argentine capital. The rapist was a religious, Brother Fernando Enrique Picciochi, who was a teacher at the school and also abused other children and adolescents.

Only a decade later, after having completed his secondary studies at the Marianista College at the age of 18, “we dared to break the silence” and denounced Picciochi to justice.

Sebastián Quattromo, during his press conference in Rome. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

The priest had fled to the United States, where he lived under a false name and was extradited to Argentina. In 2012 the religious was sentenced to twelve years in prison and imprisoned.

The sentence was appealed, but it was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Justice, which definitively ratified it for the crime of qualified and repeated corruption of minors.

keep silent

The Marianista College should have assumed its civil responsibility for what happened, Cuattromo said Thursday, but demanded that the complainants commit to keeping silent about the case, in accordance with the ecclesiastical custom of “avoiding scandal.”

Cuattromo said that he had appeared before the ecclesiastical authorities. The then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. “I was received by his secretary, Monsignor Martín García Aguirre, who told me that I would not be received by the cardinal but by the then vicar of Flores, Monsignor Mario Aurelio Poli, who is today the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Quattromo and Silvia Piceda from the association “Adults for Children’s Rights” in Plaza San Pedro. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

With Poli “I met twice and he told me that the ecclesiastical authorities headed by Cardinal Bergoglio shared the position of the Marianist College, that is, admitting civil responsibilities if the abused complainants committed to silence.”

“He never answered us”

Sebastián Cuattromo said that “during the ten years of Pope Bergoglio’s pontificate, he never responded to our insistent requests to receive us.”

This is the first time that Cuattromo has traveled to the Vatican, just when Pope Francis is about to celebrate his 10th anniversary on Monday.

Sebastián Cuattromo and Silvia Piceda try unsuccessfully to deliver a letter addressed to the Pope in the Vatican. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

On Wednesday, Cuattromo and the leader of the Association of Adults for the Rights of Children, the hepatologist Silvina Piceda, tried to deliver a request for an audience with the Pope in the Vatican, but they were not allowed to enter.

“After ten years of pontificate, we are still light years away from being able to think that the Catholic hierarchy will seek concrete ways to repair and bring justice to the victims of abuse.”

“After ten years of pontificate, we are still light years away from being able to think that the Catholic hierarchy will seek concrete ways to repair and bring justice to the victims of abuse.”

Cuattromo said that this Friday at the Argentine House in Rome on Via Veneto, the leaders of Adults for Children’s Rights in Argentina will present the book “We are survivors”, already published in our country, by eight Argentine writers.

Quattromo shows the book “We are survivors” during his press conference at the foreign correspondents’ headquarters in Italy. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

Piceda and Cuattromo have started a tour in Rome to find associations of child rape victims in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Belgium.

In Brussels they will meet with officials of the European Union from 27 countries.

Vatican correspondent

ap

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