Priest accused of sexual abuse says he is innocent

Ecuadornews:

As a Catholic obedient to the Church and fearful of God, Luis Fernando I. was defined, a priest accused of sexually abusing and torturing a dozen adolescents for 10 years through the practice of the “dynamics of sin”.

The cleric, through a statement, said that “for Christian charity, I have kept prudent silence,” after the accusations made by a group of alleged cases through a journalistic article published on May 9, by the digital media Gkillcity.

But this May 15, the priest issued the statement, which called “slanderous statements of hatred that attack the truth” and noted that the publication cause “moral damage.”

Of the journalistic content, the priest indicated that “it was not contrasted at any time, therefore the aforementioned report lacks impartiality and confuses the public opinion”.

In the text, Luis Fernando I. ratified his state of innocence and indicated that as evidence there is a complaint with a sentence in his favor in the Office of the Prosecutor, with an enforceable sentence.

He recalled that “in 25 years of priestly life I never had a canonical admonition, until 2013, in contradiction with what some media outlets say, citing dates such as 2003 and 2009”.

The priest clarified that in the Archdiocese of Guayaquil there is “a wave of complaints” against him, which he claims was not found guilty for the crime of sexual abuse of minors.

With respect to the canonical process, he asserts that he is in the appeal stage.

“Bishop Antonio Arregui Yarza forwarded the file to the Holy See, giving a report with his final personal opinion, based on unproven assumptions and not on the basis of the evidence gathered throughout the canonical penal process and that it is recorded in reports”

He added that “I have never acknowledged that my behavior has been a ‘simple morbid and reprehensible behavior’, as stated in the reports.”

The priest asked for prayer and stressed that “I will not fall into the game of creating divisiveness, religious hatred or discrimination of any kind, even though I am the victim of indiscriminate persecution that seeks to leave me defenseless, even endangering my physical integrity.” (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/judicial/12/sacerdote-abuso-sexual-inocente