Trial for priests accused of abusing deaf children in Argentina
In Argentina, the trial for two priests and a gardener who are accused of sexually abusing multiple deaf children at the now-closed Provolo Institute started a few days ago.
Priest Nicola Corradi (83) is the founder of the institute in 1995 and was arrested in 2016 for sex crimes.
He is from Italy and there were reports of abuse in schools where he worked in Italy before he moved to Argentina in 1970.
The Daily Moth has done a long summary about the reports of the abuses in a video in February. The link is below in the transcript.
Corradi and the other two defendants face a prison sentence between 20 to 50 years for abuses that happened between 2004 and 2016. The trial is expected to last between one to two months. About 200 people will testify. The trial will be closed to the public.
News reports say there are deaf survivors and their relatives protesting outside of the courthouse.
There will be upcoming trials for nuns, former directors, and employees of the institute who are accused of taking part in the abuses or knowing about it but not taking action.
Survivors said they have warned Pope Francis, who is from Argentina, about Corradi and other abusive priests in 2014, but that he did not take action.
Former deaf survivors of abuse in Italy told the Vatican that Corradi as an abuser in 2009, but there was no action taken against him.
The Archdiocese of Mendoza said they are in solidarity with those who have suffered.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/priests-accused-sexually-abusing-argentine-students-trial-190806084805091.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/priests-accused-of-abusing-deaf-students-go-on-trial-in-argentina
https://cruxnow.com/cruxinargentina/2019/08/02/trial-of-priests-accused-of-abusing-deaf-kids-begins-in-argentina/
Moth Summary: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=357954544934291