Global clergy abuse survivors to Pope Francis: Fernández must go!
Group says “Fernández’s record of abuse cover-up and treatment of victims makes him unfit.”
Time has come for a lay person selected by survivor organizations to oversee clerical investigations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09-27-2023
WHEN: 11:00AM, 28 September, 2023
WHERE: Piazza Adriana, next to Castel Sant'Angelo
WHO: Global survivors of clergy sexual abuse and advocates, including a survivor from the La Plata archdiocese whose abuser was defended and protected by Fernández
WHAT: Clergy abuse survivors and advocates representing 25 countries holding signs and calling on Pope Francis to remove Fernández from his position at the DDF and rescind his elevation to the position of cardinal
WHY: Rome, Italy – Leaders of survivors and advocacy groups from around the world are demanding that Pope Francis replace Fernández as head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) and rescind his elevation to the position of cardinal. “No bishop who has covered up child sex crimes and ignored and dismissed victims of clergy abuse in his diocese should be running the office that oversees, investigates, and prosecutes clergy sex offenders from around the world, or be made a cardinal,” says Julieta Añazco, a victim from the La Plata archdiocese which Fernández led from 2018 until his appointment to the DDF.
As incoming archbishop of La Plata, Fernández inherited some of the most severe sex abuse cases by clerics in Argentina, including horrific abuse of students at the Antonio Provolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children in La Plata, where more than two dozen children were allegedly sexually tortured at the hands of priests and other employees at the school. (The La Plata school’s director for years was the late Father Nicola Corradi, S.M., who was sentenced to 42 years in prison in 2019 for raping and sexually assaulting deaf children at the Provolo school in Mendoza.)
Pope Francis himself contributed to the cover-up of the crimes at the Provolo schools. He had been informed repeatedly that Provolo clerics previously accused of sexually assaulting children in Italy were working at the Provolo boarding schools for deaf children in Mendoza and La Plata. He was notified in 2013 and 2014 via letter, and in person in 2015, according to the Washington Post. Yet he took no action against the accused clerics, and the abuse at the Mendoza school continued until 2016, when the school was closed. The La Plata school remains open today.
Investigating sexual abuse cases comprises 80 percent of the DDF's workload, according to America magazine, and in Fernández's recent history as Archbishop of La Plata, there are three significant cases where he mishandled serious instances of sexual abuse. Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) will present evidence from these cases demonstrating why Fernández is unfit to lead the DDF.
ECA leaders from around the world are in Rome for their yearly global assembly just before Pope Francis begins his Synod on Synodality. While in Rome, the group will conduct several events including a vigil for survivors and a second press conference on Monday, October 2nd regarding ECA’s newly proposed zero tolerance legislation. The full schedule of events is available here.
Contact:
United States - English
Peter Isely, ECA Founding Member
peter@natesmission.org
+1 414-429-7259
Tim Law, ECA Founding/Board Member
timalaw@aol.com
+1 206-412-0165
Canada - English
Gemma Hickey (they/them)
Pathways Foundation Founder/ECA Member
gemmamhickey@gmail.com
+1 709-690-5244
Evelyn Korkmaz, ECA Founding Member
ACTS Canada Founding Member
ekorkmaz16@hotmail.com
+1 613-854-1303
Latin America - Spanish/English
Adalberto Méndez, ECA Founding/Board Member
adalsamma@yahoo.com.mx
+52 155 36533007
Europe - German/English
Matthias Katsch, ECA Founding Member
makazade@gmail.com
+49 178 1674838
Italy - Italian/English/Spanish/Portuguese
Simone Padovani, ECA Founding/Board Member
simon.padovani@gmail.com
+39 392 1454211
Voices for Justice: Survivor-Activists from Across the World Converge for Zero Tolerance ahead of Papal Synod
Rome, Italy – Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global coalition of survivor leaders, activists, and human rights lawyers, representing victims in 25 countries on 5 continents, is proud to announce a powerful series of events in Rome, centering on our demand that Pope Francis sign into law a binding and universal zero tolerance mandate before his Synod on Synodality.
Such a law would implement key recommendations to the Holy See from the 2014 United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - particularly an update to Canon Law putting the internal law of the Church in compliance with the CRC Convention relating to “children’s rights to be protected against discrimination, violence and all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.”
Over four years after ECA’s meeting with the organizers of the 2019 Papal Summit on the Protection of Minors, and after several insufficient canon law revisions, a cleric, Church employee, or volunteer who is known to Church officials to have sexually abused a child or vulnerable adult can remain in ministry. Global survivors are calling for this to end.
The series of events will feature the following key activities:
Pilgrimage to Rome (21-26 September): Ten survivors and activists will pilgrimage/march (75 miles) to Rome from Montefiascone, along the Via Francigena, carrying an 8-foot wooden cross with a zero-tolerance message and distributing leaflets urging residents along the way to report clergy abuse to local civil authorities and to promote our message and planned activities in Rome. We will pass through the towns of Viterbo, Caprarola, Sutri, Campagnano di Roma, Isola Farnese to Rome.
FULL SCHEDULE HERE
Completion of Pilgrimage at St. Peter’s Square (12:00pm, 27 September): Marchers traveling to Rome from Montefiascone will finish their 75-mile pilgrimage meeting survivors from around the world in St. Peter’s Square.
Press Event at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (10:00am, 28 September): Survivors and advocates will discuss and rate the handling of sex abuse cases by the Pope’s 21 cardinal-designates scheduled to be elevated on Saturday 30 September.
March and Vigil at Castel Sant’Angelo gardens, end of Via della Conciliazione (4:00pm-8:00pm, 30 September): ECA will host a march and vigil for clergy abuse survivors alongside a powerful photojournalistic presentation entitled “Shame,” including an emotionally-charged exhibit exposing the painful reality of child victims of clergy abuse from around the world through a collection of hauntingly-honest portraits and painstaking documentation. Beginning officially at 6:00pm, the vigil will feature contributions from clergy abuse victims, activists, and anti-abuse organizations.
Press Event at the Foreign Press Club (11:00am, 2 October): Survivors and advocates will demand that Pope Francis sign ECA’s new proposed Zero Tolerance law before his Synod on Synodality begins.
ECA believes that by coming together in the heart of Rome, we can amplify our voices, demand change, and ensure that survivors receive the support and justice they deserve.
For more information and event details, please visit www.ecaglobal.org. We encourage media representatives, Synod leaders and members, and concerned Catholics to join us in this crucial cause.
Contact:
United States - English
Peter Isely, ECA Founding Member
peter@natesmission.org
+1 414-429-7259
Tim Law, ECA Founding/Board Member
timalaw@aol.com
+1 206-412-0165
Canada - English
Gemma Hickey (they/them)
Pathways Foundation Founder/ECA Member
gemmamhickey@gmail.com
+1 709-690-5244
Evelyn Korkmaz, ECA Founding Member
ACTS Canada Founding Member
ekorkmaz16@hotmail.com
+1 613-854-1303
Latin America - Spanish/English
Adalberto Méndez, ECA Founding/Board Member
adalsamma@yahoo.com.mx
+52 155 36533007
Europe - German/English
Matthias Katsch, ECA Founding Member
makazade@gmail.com
+49 178 1674838
Italy - Italian/English/Spanish/Portuguese
Simone Padovani, ECA Founding/Board Member
simon.padovani@gmail.com
+39 392 1454211
About ECA: The mission of ECA is to compel the Roman Catholic Church to end clergy abuse, especially child sexual abuse, in order to protect children and to seek justice for victims. ECA demands the end of the Church’s structural mechanism that allows abuse.