Church scandal spreads to heartland

The paedophile priest scandal enveloping the Vatican has now spread to Latin America, home to nearly half of the world's Catholics.

Reports of priests raping or abusing minors have emerged in Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Mexico and Chile, causing growing anger.

At his weekly public audience in St Peter's Square, Rome, yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of meeting victims during his weekend trip to Malta, in a rare statement on the scandal.

"I wanted to meet some people who were victims of abuse by members of the clergy," he said. "I shared with them their suffering and with emotion I prayed with them, promising them action on the part of the Church."

So far the widespread anti-church outrage seen in European countries has yet to materialise in Latin America.

In Brazil, an 83-year-old priest has been arrested after he was secretly filmed in bed with a 19-year-old altar boy. The footage was broadcast on national television networks which led to the arrest of Monsignor Luiz Marques Barbosa and two other priests. They have since been accused of abusing boys as young as 12 and have been suspended by their diocesan bishop.

The Catholic Church in Chile confirmed this week there have been 20 alleged or confirmed cases of child abuse by priests. At a press conference on Wednesday, Monsignor Alejandro Goic, head of Chile's bishops' conference, apologised and promised a crackdown. "There is no place in the priesthood for those who abuse minors, and nothing can justify this crime," he said.

Reporters in Uruguay discovered a priest, charged with raping three children in Bolivia, had returned to his homeland and was living openly with the full knowledge of church officials.

Juan Jose Santana has been on the run from Bolivian police since May 2008. An Interpol warrant has been issued for his arrest but reporters from the La Republica newspaper tracked him down. Asked if allegations he had abused children were true, the newspaper reported he said: "It's true. That's all I can say ... you know something? I'm dead."

The Mexican church is already reeling from revelations surrounding the Legionnaires of Christ, a shadowy but powerful Catholic sect founded by Maciel Degollado. After his death in 2008, it emerged he had sexual affairs with men, women and boys worldwide.

This week, however, the Mexican church has also been drawn into a potentially costly legal battle in the US. An anonymous Mexican citizen has filed papers to sue Catholic cardinals in Mexico City and Los Angeles, accusing them of deliberately hiding the background of a Mexican priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of children.

Professor Manuel Vasquez, of the University of Florida, says the Church has a "strong moral standing" in South America "that may insulate it". But he added: "Its moral power comes through confronting governments on the issue of impunity. But if people believe the Church is now itself acting with impunity, it leaves it open to allegations of double standards."

- Independent