By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
A judge in the Desamparados
court* requested an
international arrest warrant for
a former Catholic priest
surnamed Víquez, who is charged
with the sexual abuse of two
children in 2003.
The suspect is being
investigated for the alleged
rape of two men surnamed
Rodríguez and Venegas who were
minors in 2003.
According to the Judiciary, the
judge in the Desamparados court
ordered the suspect to be
arrested internationally. The
order was sent to the Public
Ministry so that the ministry
could open a request with the
Interpol.
According to the Prosecutor's
Office of Gender, which is the
judicial organization where
victims of sexual crimes are
defended, they cannot give any
more details about the case due
to restrictions by Article 295
of the Criminal Procedure Code.
This article defines that when a
case is in the evidence
collection phase, the
information is private.
The press office of the Catholic
Church confirmed that the
paperwork had already been done
at the internal level of the
organization, and that the
ex-priest had been asked to
appear before the prosecution
and face the case.
Auxiliary bishop Daniel Blanco,
of the Archdiocese of San José,
said, "the Church has not put,
or will put, any obstacle to
this process. We ask Mr. Víquez
Lizano to surrender to the
authorities."
According to the record of
departures of the General
Directorate of Migration, former
priest Víquez left the country
on January 7, 2019.
With regard to cases where
Catholic priests have been
accused of sexual abuse against
minors, Pope Francis will hold a
seminar to analyze this crisis
in the religious organization.
This
week, 190 bishops and other
prelates from around the
world are gathering for a
meeting on the protection of
minors in the Catholic
Church. The meeting is
the first of its kind at
the Vatican, and a sign
that the Pope and the
church hierarchy are
finally acknowledging
that the sexual-abuse
crisis has become a
global issue—in recent
years, scandals have
erupted in Australia,
Chile, France, Germany,
Ireland, and the United
States, and they show no
signs of abating.
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A.M. Costa
Rica wire services photo
According
to the record of
departures of the
General Directorate of
Migration, former priest
Víquez left the country
on January 7, 2019.
According to the
Vatican statement, the
meeting’s themes will
be responsibility,
accountability, and
transparency, and they
hope that it will be a
turning point. But
they’ve also tried to
manage expectations,
saying that while the
gathering is an
opportunity for
discussion and
reflection, it might
not yet yield concrete
measures.
According to public
statements of
Monsignor Charles J.
Scicluna, the
archbishop of Malta
and one of the
Vatican’s longtime top
investigators of
sexual-abuse cases,
“this is not going to
be a three-day wonder,
and we’re not going to
solve all the
problems. Follow-up
will be of the
essence.”
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Should
the Catholic Church have
taken the former priest
to the police to avoid
his leaving the
country? We would
like to know your
thoughts on this story.
Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to
reach the source.
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