Crédito: L”Osservatore Romano.

Meeting in advance of actions and protests this week in Buenos Aires and Mendoza.

Groups want Pope Francis to visit his home country and resolve growing clergy abuse crisis there, enact “true” zero tolerance.

Papal Concordat with Argentina must be amended in cases of child sex crimes, groups say.

— Link to full text of ECA’s letter to Ambassador Pfirter.

— Link to schedule of media events and protests in Argentina, May 2-6. 

APRIL 29, ROME, ITALY — Representatives of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global network of prominent clergy abuse survivors, activists, and organizations, are meeting on Monday morning with the Argentine ambassador to the Holy See, Rogelio Francisco Emilio Pfirter.  The meeting takes place in Rome. It occurs in advance of a week-long series of actions and protests in Argentina that will call upon Pope Francis to visit his home country and address the growing sexual abuse crisis there. The survivors want the Pope to enact “true zero tolerance” in Argentina for sex abuse by priests and cover-up by bishops.

Argentine bishops, who will be in Rome over the next three weeks meeting with the Pope, have also requested that Francis come to Argentina.  Francis has not returned to his homeland in the six years of his pontificate.

The ECA representatives attending the meeting will be led by Francesco Zanardi, the president of Italy’s oldest and largest organization of survivors, Rete L’ABUSO.  Zanardi will deliver a letter from the global network urging Ambassador Pfifter to:

— Immediately direct Argentine bishops and religious superiors to enact true zero tolerance in policy and practice;

— Launch investigations of active Argentine bishops who have shielded predator priests;

— Amend the 1966 Concordat between the Holy See and Argentina so that bishops can no longer invoke it to withhold information about child sex crimes from civil authorities.

The letter is co-signed by a prominent leader of survivors in Argentina, Julieta Anazco (Iglesia sin Abuso).

CONTACT:

Peter Isely, ECA Founding Member
Email: peterisely@gmail.com
Tel: +1414.429.7259

Tim Law, President ECA USA/ECA Board Member
Email: timalaw@aol.com
Tel: +1206.412.0165

Julieta Anazco, Founder Iglesia sin Abuso
Email: almadediamante1972@hotmail.com
Tel: +54 9 221 6743793 (Argentina)

Francesco Zanardi, ECA Founding Member
Email: portavoce@retelabuso.org
Tel: +393927030000 (Italy)

Simone Padovani, ECA Founding Member
Email: simon.padovani@gmail.com
Tel: +393921454211 (Italy)