By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
The Deputy Prosecutor for Gender
Affairs confirmed that the Criminal Court
of the San José Court*
imposed three months of
preventive detention against a
Catholic priest surnamed
Morales-Salazar, who is
suspected of the crimes of
sexual abuse and attempted rape
of a minor.
According to the judge's report,
the hearing ended around 4:10
p.m. Friday, after which, at
11:00 p.m. on Thursday, the
prosecutor concluded taking of
the statement of the accused.
The investigation against
Morales-Salazar takes place
within the file
19-000192-0994-PE.
This is the third case this year
of a Catholic priest with a
judicial file on suspicion of
sexual abuse against a minor.
The priest was detained at the
border post in Paso Canoas*
on the border between Costa Rica
and Panama at 6:34 a.m. on last
Thursday after a warrant was
issued for his arrest on
suspicion of sexual abuse of a
minor.
Police report that they
suspect that Father
Morales-Salazar intended to flee
to Panama. When he presented his
passport at the border, the
Interpol alert system showed
that there was an arrest warrant
out for him and he was detained.
The accusation against
Morales - Salazar, was made on
March 15 at a prosecutor’s
office by a young man surnamed
Arguedas, who stated that he had
suffered abuse by the priest for
two years during his
adolescence.
The position of the Catholic
Church regarding the arrest of
the priest was given by
spokesman, Jeison Granados:
"The complaint was registered
here (referring to the offices
of the Catholic Church
headquarters in San Jose) by the
complainant, his parents, his
brother, and some witnesses. It
was he and his parent's
decision, for personal reasons,
they were not going to put a
criminal complaint."
Regarding the priest’s
apparent attempt to flee the
country, Granados said "he will
receive a warning from the
Bishop for not having reported
his departure from the country.
All the priests when they leave
the country have to notify the
bishop at an office, we did not
know he was going to leave the
country."
Referring to the young man's
complaint, Granados confirmed
that, "The canonical
denunciation against the priest
that was presented in May 2013,
was presented in the
Metropolitan Curia. The process
in the Archdiocese of San José
was carried out and the case was
sent to the Vatican."
Apparently, the Vatican had
responded to the complaint,
however, the Costa Rican
Catholic Church returned the
case for a review. "The Vatican
sent a prior resolution, but the
Costa Rican ecclesiastical
tribunal requested a new
revision," said Granados.
With respect to the activities
of the priest, who continued to
serve mass, Granados said that
Morales - Salazar did not
exercise any ministerial
activities. He had been limited
to "celebrating mass in a
monastery of nuns in Guadalupe."
"We trust in the judicial
processes of Costa Rica and we
trust that this process will be
resolved," said Granados.
This is the second arrest this
month, of a priest accused of
sexual abuse against a minor and
the third case this year for a
catholic priest accused of
sexual abuse against a minor.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on
March 1, agents of the
Prosecutor's Office of San José
detained another Catholic priest
surnamed Guevara-Fonseca outside
his house in the province of Heredia*.
He was taken to the cells of
the Public
Ministry in Calle Blancos*
where the investigative process
is being carried out. He was
also interviewed by the judicial
agents and a judge ruled
pre-trial measures which
included surrendering his
passport, not leaving the
country, not approaching any of
the people related to the case,
and signing in at the Public
Ministry twice a month.
In reaction to Guevara-Fonseca’s
arrest, Jeison Granados,
spokesman for the Archdiocese of
San José, said: "He is still a
priest, he is in a canonical
process.” The Metropolitan
Curia (referring to the Costa
Rican Catholic Church leaders)
said that they have total
confidence in the Costa Rican
judicial system and are sure
that the system will find the
facts of the matter.
Leaders of the Catholic
Church, however, removed him as
a priest as the response of the
complaints about alleged sexual
abuse of a child.
"The Archdiocese of San José,
informed (the public) that
presbyter Guevara-Fonseca, who
was the priest of the Church of
Santo Domingo in Heredia*,
has been removed from that
parish. This decision responds
to a precautionary measure due
to the fact that there is a
Canonic complaint against him
for alleged inappropriate
behavior in relation to a
minor," said the Church's
statement.
Father Guevara-Fonseca’s case
was registered as file #
19-000569-0175-PE on nine
complaints of sexual abuse
against a minor.
On March 7, during the raid
conducted by agents of the
Judicial Investigation Agency
in the Episcopal
Conference of the Catholic
Church* in San Jose, a
man surnamed Barrantes, made a
public complaint against same
priest Guevara-Fonseca for
sexually abusing him when he
was a minor.
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Professional
Migration Police
courtesy photo
The
priest was
detained at the
border post in
Paso Canoas on
the border
between Costa
Rica and Panama
at 6:34 a.m. on
last Thursday
after a warrant
was issued for
his arrest on
suspicion of
sexual abuse of
a minor.
According
to Mr.
Barrantes’
testimony, the
incidents
occurred
between 1992
and 1993 when
he was 12
years old. At
that time, he
was an altar
boy and
assisted
Father
Guevara-Fonseca
in the Church of Sabanilla* in in San José.
Relating
the facts in
his case, Mr.
Barrantes said
that, "this
happened many
years ago. I
lost my
innocence. I
told my
parents, but
the problem
was that he
(referring to
Father
Guevara-Fonseca)
was a friend
of my family
and they
didn't do
anything. So I
also thought
that I was
just a child
and I could
not do
anything about
it. "
Regarding
the
possibility
that other
children who
went to the
same church
could have
been abused,
Mr. Barrantes
said, "I lost
contact with
all of them,
even with a
friend who
also worked at
altar server
like me. I
know some
things also
happened to
him, but I do
not know if he
would be
another
victim."
Same day, on
March 7, raids
made at the
Episcopal
Conference
that were the
joint work of
the
Prosecutor's
Office of the
Second
Judicial
Circuit of San
José and the
Deputy
Prosecutor of
Gender. They
were ordered
based on two
independent
investigations
that are being
pursued
against
priests, one
surnamed
Víquez-Lizano
and the other
surnamed
Guevara-Fonseca,
both suspected
of alleged
sexual crimes
with minors.
Officials
report that
the raids
occurred as
ordered at the
headquarters
of the
Ecclesiastical
Court, and the
Metropolitan
Curia, in San
José.
The raids
resulted in
the search and
seizure of
files that
could contain
relevant
documentary
evidence in
the cases
which are in
the
preparatory
phase of the
investigation.
The case of
Guevara-Fonseca
was registered
as file
#19-000569-0175-PE
and was the
second against
a priest who
is being
investigated
on the alleged
crime of
sexual abuse
against a
minor.
The first
case was
registered as
file
#18-000854-0994-PE,
in which a
priest
surnamed
Víquez-Lizano
was accused,
for the
alleged crime
of qualified
violation.
In the case
of Father
Víquez-Lizano,
suspected of
sexual abuse
of a child, he
has been
expelled from
the Clerical
State.
In that
case, Jason
Granados
spokesman of
Costa Rican
Catholic
Church,
confirmed
that
Víquez-Lizano
was sentenced
to the maximum
sanction
imposed by the
church in
cases such as
pedophilia.
Granados said
that the
resolution,
issued on
February 25,
2019, reads:
"Imposed to
the Reverend
Víquez Lizano,
priest of the
Archdiocese of
San José, the
perpetual and
expiatory
sentence of
expulsion from
the Clerical
State."
In the case
of now-former
Father
Víquez-Lizano,
nine
complaints
have been
filed for
alleged sexual
abuse against
minors and one
criminal
complaint
about alleged
violation of a
minor, a total
of ten cases
so far.
Regarding
the position
of the
Catholic
Church in the
specific case
of former
priest
Víquez-Lizano,
Mr. Granado
said that "he
must face the
case and
surrender to
the
authorities."
On Feb. 21,
a judge in the
Desamparados
city court
requested an
international
arrest warrant
for Víquez-Lizano,
who is charged
with the
sexual abuse
of two
children in
2003.
According to
the record of
departures of
the General
Directorate of
Migration,
Víquez-Lizano
left the
country on
January 7,
2019.
---------------
Are
Catholic leaders
complicit for
not denouncing
members of the
church when they
are suspected of
crimes? We would
like to know
your thoughts on
this story. Send
your comments
to: news@amcostarica.com
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