Abuse Allegations Hang Over Latin American Cardinals

One hundred fifteen cardinals started meeting on Tuesday at the Vatican in order to decide who will become the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.  At least sixteen of these cardinals come from Latin America and several of them have been dogged by allegations of abuse.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) last week named twelve cardinals who should neither vote for a pope or be elected as the next pontiff.  Among those named on the “Dirty Dozen” blacklist are Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras, Mexico’s Norberto Rivera and Leandro Sandri of Argentina.  

According to SNAP, Maradiaga has turned a blind eye to possible abuse done by Honduran priests.  He supposedly said that he would “prefer to go to jail before hurting any priests” even if they’ve been accused of abuse or other wrongdoing.

Maradiaga, who has not shied from providing to diplomatic support to ousted Honduran president Manuel Zapata and the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, reportedly blamed “Jewish interests” in the press for focusing so much on sex scandals in the church.

In addition the SNAP accused Rivera of covering up the abuses committed by several priests including Marcial Maciel, the late founder of the Legionnaires of Christ (LOC) who sexually abused minors and fathered three children with two women.

“(Rivera) not only ignored Mexican victims who were abused by Marcial Maciel and other priests, but he also slandered, defamed and accused them of being part of a plot against the Pope and the Church,” read part of a letter sent by SNAP to the Mexican catholic archdiocese.

Rivera replied to the SNAP’s accusations by denouncing the organization’s “propaganda” and pointing out that he has been cleared of accusations in U.S. courtrooms.  Yet a SNAP member who was abused by a priest protected by Rivera vehemently disagreed: 

Daily Headlines: October 17, 2007

* In the latest development of a story we’ve covered several times before, a California judge dropped a lawsuit against Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera. Rivera had been accused of covering up the transfer of a child-abusing priest to the Los Angeles diocese.

* Argentine and Brazilian paleontologists discovered fossils of a new species of dinosaur in the Patagonia region which lived 88 million years ago and measured over 100 feet long.

* Approximately 4000 people marched in Santiago, Chile on Monday calling for increased rights for the country’s Mapuche natives.

* Leaders of Cuba and Venezuela signed over a dozen economic cooperation agreements during Hugo Chavez’ visit to the island.

* The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the organization’s peacekeeping mission in Haiti for oneyear.

* Follow-up: A bomb threat delayed voting on a controversial bill that would decriminalize abortion in Uruguay.

Sources (English)- BBC News, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Unrepresented Nations and Persons Organization, People’s Daily Online, CNN

Sources (Spanish)- El Pais

Image- Noticieros Televisa

Daily Headlines: September 14, 2007

* Follow-up: Newly released documents in the case against a Mexican priest accused of child abuse suggested that Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera (image) tried to cover up the allegations before transferring the priest to California.

* The head of Puerto Rico’s pro-independence party claimed that U.S. politicos will soon approve a plebiscite on the island’s political status.

* Colombia’s top cocaine capo offered a $5 million bribe to his captors after being caught earlier this week.

* The publisher of Nicaragua’s largest newspaper lashed out at president Daniel Ortega after being forced to pay nearly $2 million in back taxes.

Sources (English)- Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Yahoo! News, The Telegraph

Source (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- Catholic News Service

Mexican cardinal questioned over abuse case

Cardinal Norberto Rivera was questioned by U.S. lawyers after having been accused of knowing sending a priest blamed for child abuse to Los Angles. The once leading candidate for Pope was under deposition for about nine hours from the headquarters of the Mexico City archdiocese.

Earlier this year, Cardinal Rivera’s attorney said that he ought to be tried in Mexico since that was where the alleged abuse was committed by fugitive priest Nicolas Aguilar. Yet as one of the lawyers for plaintiff Joaquin Aguilar Mendez mentioned last month:

"We want to get the information out of Rivera about what he knew about this predator," (Jeffrey) Anderson said. "We're going to try to get answers from Cardinal Rivera about why he covered this up."

Not only is Rivera the leading roman Catholic clergyman in Mexico, but he has been one of the most vocal conservative voices in issues like decriminalizing abortion and in favor of increased Church involvement in politics.

Sources- BBC News, TVNZ, The Latin Americanist, Reuters

Image- Noticieros Televisa