Swamp left behind in Argentina by the Pope

 It is the third trial to take place in the northern Argentine province and will have a priest of the Catholic Church in the chair of the accused. After the convictions of Gustavo Zanchetta and Agustín Rosa Torino, it is the turn of Fernando Páez, denounced in 2019 by Kevin Montes, a former seminarian for having sexually abused him between 2015 and 2017, in the parish of the Holy Cross, where Páez exercised his priesthood. The complainant was a key witness in the trial against Gustavo Zanchetta, for which he received four years and six months in prison.

The trial will begin on 15 May in Tartagal, one day after the provincial elections. The crime for which Páez is accused is simple sexual abuse, doubly aggravated for having been committed in his role as a recognised minister of worship and in charge of education. The debate will be conducted by Chamber I of the Tartagal Trial Court, made up of judges Ricardo Martoccia and Aníbal Burgos and judge, Soledad Rodríguez.

Ecclesiastical crimes. La Pampa: trial begins against priest accused of sexual abuse

For the Prosecutor's Unit, the work carried out in the preparatory criminal investigation "reveals that the complainant's account is not isolated and unsubstantiated, but corresponds to the statements of witnesses who occupied various roles in the church where the accused worked, which show a modus operandi deployed by the priest".

It should not be forgotten that both Zanchetta, a protected friend of Bergoglio, and Bishop Luis Scozzina of the Diocese of Oran knew of the atrocities committed by Paez and kept quiet; indeed, Zanchetta also abused him. Once again, a hierarchy that covers up and sustains a perverse system of sexual crimes, of which Bergoglio is the head.

In statements to local and national media, Montes demanded protection for both himself and his family. "I don't feel safe either physically or psychologically because of the harassment from people. I am afraid of the journey there and back," said Montes, who had to move to the province of Córdoba due to the harassment he received for denouncing the priest.

Regarding the trial, the complainant demands "a common jail, a firm and coherent sentence". "This is not only for me, but for other witnesses who did not dare to denounce, but suffered the same thing and are going to testify, and for those who could have been victims if this was not denounced", he said.

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