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CHILD ABUSE

Four arrested for alleged child abuse within religious community

Four people, who were part of a religious community, have been arrested in the Sicilian city of Catania for alleged sexual assault and violence against children.

Published: 2 August 2017 09:35 CEST
Four arrested for alleged child abuse within religious community
File photo: Markasia/ Deposit Photos

Police said children within the community suffered abuse which was justified by the alleged perpetrators as “spiritual acts”.

The cases of abuse emerged during an investigation by police in Catania called “12 apostles”.

The religious group of around 5,000 people was established by a late priest.

CHILD ABUSE

Vatican suspends Chilean deacon accused of child abuse

The Vatican dismissed a Chilean deacon over sexual abuse accusations in central Chile, the archdiocese of the city of Rancagua said Friday, amid a widespread abuse scandal gripping the country's Catholic Church.

Published: 21 July 2018 12:19 CEST
Vatican suspends Chilean deacon accused of child abuse
Pope Francis (pictured) in May accepted the resignation of five Chilean bishops amid accusations of abuse. Photo: AFP
Luis Rubio was arrested for improper conduct and sexual abuse of minors when he was in charge of a Las Cabras school in 2013.
 
A year later, the archdiocese of Rancagua dismissed him from his duties while an investigation was underway, with the results sent to the Vatican, which has now expelled him.
 
Rubio's case was brought to the forefront in May when a television report revealed an alleged network of sexual abuse carried out by a group of religious figures collectively known as “The Family.”
 
Rubio was interviewed in the report, during which he admitted he had “made a mistake, but not committed a crime.”
 
A total of 14 priests and other religious figures were suspended as the Church investigated the network, while Rancagua prosecutors also opened their own investigation.
 
 
Pope Francis in May accepted the resignation of five Chilean bishops amid accusations of abuse and related cover-ups. Meanwhile last week, prominent priest Oscar Munoz was arrested over allegations of sexual abuse and rape of at least seven children.
 
The pontiff also accepted the resignation of auxillary bishop Juan Jose Pineda in Honduras, who has faced allegations by former seminarians of sexual misconduct, the Vatican announced.
 
Pineda has given up his post as auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Church's archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, the Vatican said in a brief statement.
 
In March, former seminarians had accused the 57-year-old cleric of “serious sexual misconduct,” according to the US weekly National Catholic Register.
 
The alleged incidents happened earlier this decade when Pineda was teaching at the archdiocese's seminary for those studying for the priesthood.
 
Pineda was considered the righthand man of Honduran Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga, one of the closest advisors to Pope Francis and head of the “C9”, a council of cardinals who assist the pontiff in reforming the Vatican.