Sexual abuses in the Latin American Catholic Church. Assessing the problem and the responses

ANA LOURDES SUAREZ; VERONIQUE LECAROS

Virtual

Congreso; Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion; 2020

Asociación de la American Academy of Religion

The paper presents results of our ongoing investigation on sexual abuses in two Latin American countries: Argentina and Peru. The abuses we analyze were reported in three communities (Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, Regnum Christi -Legionarios-, and Institute Discípulos de Jesús de San Juan Bautista) founded in Latin American countries. The three communities have each developed very conservative structures and agendas. We also present the way Pope Frances' 2019 Motu Propio, (Vos estis lux mundi), has been implemented in these two countries, particularly in Peru where one of us, Veronique Lecaros, heads the group responsible of establishing the commission for welcoming victims. We analyze some of the main challenges involved in designing these commissions, considering that at present the dioceses are not giving financial compensations.