Abuser Bishop Zanchetta, protected by Francis, returns to Argentina from Rome. Continued lenient treatment by Church and State outrages survivors.

"Zancheta is in Salta and yesterday received a visit from the current Bishop of Orán"

Matías Montes, Salta representative of the Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Abuse, revealed on Somos la Mañana that the priest remains unpunished without serving his house arrest sentence.

"Zancheta is in Salta and yesterday received a visit from the current Bishop of Orán"

In recent hours, the alleged presence of the former Bishop of Orán, Gustavo Zanchetta, in Salta sparked anger among victims and organizations fighting against ecclesiastical abuse. Zanchetta was convicted in 2022 for sexually abusing two seminarians, and his return to the province reopens wounds that never healed.

The news was confirmed by Matías Montes, Salta representative of the Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Abuse, in an interview for the program Somos la Mañana. There, he reported that the former bishop had been visited by the current head of the diocese of Orán, Friar Luis Scozzina, and that a room was even being prepared for him in a local monastery.

"Zanchetta is in Salta. Yesterday he received a visit from the current bishop of Orán. They are preparing his room at the monastery. I saw it with my own eyes," Montes stated.

Conviction, impunity, and silence

Zanchetta was sentenced in March 2022 by the Second Oral Court of Salta to four and a half years in prison for continuous simple sexual abuse, aggravated by his role as a minister of worship. However, he never served his sentence in a regular prison. Thanks to judicial maneuvers by his defense, he was granted house arrest in a convent.

In November of last year, the court authorized him to travel to Rome for alleged medical reasons, from which he never officially returned. Now, his appearance in Salta raises questions and suspicions about the true control over his sentence.

Montes was a witness at the trial and does not hide his disappointment:

"The judiciary did not handle itself well. We have no trust in Salta. As long as the Church remains tied to the State, this will continue to happen. We were totally abandoned. We wanted to be priests, and we had to leave. There was no psychological help, no support, no real justice."

The Open Wound

Zanchetta continues to hold his title of Bishop, something Montes considers unacceptable.

"He is still a bishop. The only one who can judge him is the Pope, and Francis did nothing. Now the responsibility lies with the new pontiff."

The Survivors' Network insists that the only possible avenue for justice is civil law.

"To those who are experiencing similar situations today, we say: file a complaint in the ordinary courts. It is the only path that still shows some credibility."

A Shocking Return

Zanchetta's possible request for conditional imprisonment worries victims. According to Montes, he is close to completing the necessary time to request it. "We know he's going to ask for it. The path is being paved for him," he warned.

Zanchetta's case became a symbol of the systematic cover-up within the Catholic Church and the fragility of judicial mechanisms when it comes to ecclesiastical power. Today, his return to Salta not only rekindles the pain of those who were abused, but also highlights that impunity remains possible for those who enjoy institutional protection.

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