Survivors' Network on Zanchetta's transfer to a monastery: "It's a mockery"

Daniel Vera, a member of the Survivors' Network of Ecclesiastical Abuse, harshly questioned the possibility that the former bishop convicted of sexual abuse would not serve his sentence in a regular prison.

In an exclusive interview with the program Somos la Mañana, Daniel Vera, a member of the Survivors' Network of Ecclesiastical Abuse, expressed his outrage at the possibility that Gustavo Zancheta, the former bishop of Orán convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, would continue to serve his sentence in a monastery and not in a regular prison.

"Justice is practically a mockery," Vera denounced, after learning that the former priest had recently traveled to Rome and could now be housed in a religious monastery, instead of a penitentiary like any other convict.

Zancheta was found guilty of sexually abusing seminarians while he headed the northern diocese. Despite the seriousness of the incident, he was sentenced to only four years in prison, a sentence that the Network considers insufficient and symbolic.

"They receive very light sentences. It's terrible that they are given four years for abusing young men who trusted them," Vera stated, adding: "It's crazy that after being accused of abuse, some go to Rome as if nothing had happened."

The activist also took aim at the institutional protection that, in his opinion, the Church continues to enjoy in Argentina. "It's clear that the Church is supported by the State. Zancheta has been convicted by the courts, but he is still a priest. The only real sanction the Church applies is to remove the clerical state, and even that doesn't always happen," he concluded.

Zancheta's situation has reignited the debate over the privileged treatment received by some religious leaders convicted of sexual offenses, in contrast to the harshness of the criminal justice system for other sectors of society. The Survivors' Network is calling for the former bishop to serve his sentence in a regular prison, as required by law.

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