Bishop Emeritus Gustavo Zanchetta was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in Orán, a department located in the interior of the province of Salta, in northern Argentina.
The victims, identified by their initials, MC and GG, saw their freedom of sexual decision affected by the acts carried out by Zanchetta, said prosecutor Pablo Rivero. In pleading he cited the psychological and psychiatric reports of the former bishop, which present him as a person with psychopathic traits and a serious failure of impulse control; manipulator of the situation according to his convenience, who perceives others as objects to achieve his goals and who observes reality according to his own convenience.
The official defender, Enzo Gianotti, maintained that these accusations were part of a “plot” against the bishop and after the sentence he announced that he would appeal. This public attorney was questioned at the trial because he was recognized there by the former seminarians and complainants, as a professional who had been brought by Bishop Luis Scozzina to advise them regarding the complaints and told them that “there was no crime configuration”, they were unaware who later went on to represent Zanchetta in the criminal proceedings.
For Rivero “in all the cases in which an abuse in the Church is investigated, the defenses always say that they respond to a plot by other priests.” “We cannot determine the extent of the damage suffered by the victims, but we do have the obligation to give them a response from the Justice Department and give a response to the society of Oran and the entire country,” said the prosecutor.
“It was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”
In her arguments, the prosecutor María Soledad Filtrin Cuezzo, who worked together with Rivero, pointed out that “it was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”, who presented in their complaints and during the trial “internal logic, contextualization of the facts, precision of details and experiences from the anatomical, accompanied by concomitant aspects”.
According to what was reported by GG, who carried out the discernment stage since 2015 and entered the seminary on February 25, 2017, Zanchetta kissed him on the neck and reported an event in which he hugged him with one of his arms from behind and with the The hand of the other arm put a finger in her mouth. The complainant said that he remained motionless, dismayed, unable to react and went to the bedroom. Then, the next day, he recounted that when he was sleeping he woke up and the bishop was stroking the inner side of his thigh.
The other complainant, MC, who entered the seminary on February 25, 2013, also reported that the bishop hugged him from behind and supported his genitals on his buttocks. The prosecutor Filtrin Cuezzo said in the pleadings that these events were “indefinite in time” and were committed in the seminar
Juan XXIII, in the San Antonio parish and in the bishop’s house in Oran. The bishop also kissed this young man on the neck and made constant requests for massages that bothered him. The peculiarity of the acts of abuse of Zanchetta, as highlighted by the prosecutorial unit in the trial, is that they took place in the public sphere, not only in the private sphere, which is common in these crimes.
During the trial, former seminarians gave testimony. Some reported having suffered the same crimes of sexual abuse that consisted of supporting the genitals through prolonged hugs from behind, touching, requesting massages, putting fingers in the mouth and kissing the neck.
They also said that the bishop entered the bedrooms at night, that he illuminated them with a flashlight, and that in the conversations they had with him he asked them questions about their sexual intimacy. Several witnesses said that the religious organized meetings with the seminarians for whom he had a preference, in which there was always the consumption of alcoholic beverages. They also reported that the bishop exercised discrimination, authoritarianism and abuse of power.
“That someone believes us is a big step”
One of the witnesses was former seminarian Marcio Torina, who told France 24 that he is satisfied with the sentence, although he believes that the amount of the sentence could have been higher. He considered that the fact that the bishop has been convicted vindicates the complainants and those who supported them, “that someone believes us is a big step.”
He said that they had been “tried, targeted, and persecuted” within the Diocese of Oran itself, “we all ended up being victims.” He said that the diocese was divided based on the first canonical and then criminal complaints to the bishop.
Torina pointed out that in 2019 he was called to testify in the framework of the canonical process to investigate Zanchetta, which is being carried out, by order of the Vatican, by the bishop of Tucumán, Carlos Sánchez: “He has received our testimony, from at least 15 former seminarians and of cures too”. He said that to date they have not notified him of any news regarding this canonical process. Torina further explained that the first complaints against Zanchetta were brought to Rome in 2015 and 2017.
In 2017 Zanchetta was transferred from Orán to Corrientes, a province located in the northeast of Argentina, and resigned from the bishopric in July of that year, alleging “a health problem” for which he was prevented from continuing to exercise pastoral government. His resignation was accepted by Pope Francis. Three months later, Zanchetta was appointed adviser to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) of the Vatican.
“Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’”
In February 2019, the interim director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, explained that “the accusations against Zanchetta arose (…) almost a year after the Pope appointed him to a position in the Vatican”, and reported that the bishop would refrain from making such advice “while the preliminary investigation lasts.”
Former seminarian Torina recalled that the Pope said in an interview that since Zanchetta was a bishop, by ecclesiastical law he would have to be tried by him, but that he desisted from doing so because he was an Argentine and preferred to form a court to give the sentence and then he enact it. Torina recalled that Zanchetta worked at the Argentine Episcopal Conference when Jorge Bergoglio (today Pope Francis) was archbishop. “When the Pope took office, the first bishop he appointed was Zanchetta (…) We were without a bishop in Oran, on a trip in July 2013 he appointed him,” he said. “The image remains with us. Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’. When the phone rang he said ‘the Pope is calling me'”.
“Zanchetta is still a priest, he continues to have the protection of the church,” he added. He, like other faithful of the Catholic Church and former seminarians, claim the Congregation of the Faith and Pope Francis removes it from the clerical state to the religious.
The bishop emeritus is also being investigated for economic crimes, for a possible fraudulent administration or fraud against the State, during his pastoral government in the Diocese of Oran. The Public Prosecutor’s Office informed France 24 that this case is in a state of “preliminary investigation”, in charge of the criminal prosecutor Mónica Viazzi. As part of this investigation, in 2019 there was a raid on the headquarters of the bishopric of the city of Oran.
Bishop Emeritus Gustavo Zanchetta was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in Orán, a department located in the interior of the province of Salta, in northern Argentina.
The victims, identified by their initials, MC and GG, saw their freedom of sexual decision affected by the acts carried out by Zanchetta, said prosecutor Pablo Rivero. In pleading he cited the psychological and psychiatric reports of the former bishop, which present him as a person with psychopathic traits and a serious failure of impulse control; manipulator of the situation according to his convenience, who perceives others as objects to achieve his goals and who observes reality according to his own convenience.
The official defender, Enzo Gianotti, maintained that these accusations were part of a “plot” against the bishop and after the sentence he announced that he would appeal. This public attorney was questioned at the trial because he was recognized there by the former seminarians and complainants, as a professional who had been brought by Bishop Luis Scozzina to advise them regarding the complaints and told them that “there was no crime configuration”, they were unaware who later went on to represent Zanchetta in the criminal proceedings.
For Rivero “in all the cases in which an abuse in the Church is investigated, the defenses always say that they respond to a plot by other priests.” “We cannot determine the extent of the damage suffered by the victims, but we do have the obligation to give them a response from the Justice Department and give a response to the society of Oran and the entire country,” said the prosecutor.
“It was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”
In her arguments, the prosecutor María Soledad Filtrin Cuezzo, who worked together with Rivero, pointed out that “it was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”, who presented in their complaints and during the trial “internal logic, contextualization of the facts, precision of details and experiences from the anatomical, accompanied by concomitant aspects”.
According to what was reported by GG, who carried out the discernment stage since 2015 and entered the seminary on February 25, 2017, Zanchetta kissed him on the neck and reported an event in which he hugged him with one of his arms from behind and with the The hand of the other arm put a finger in her mouth. The complainant said that he remained motionless, dismayed, unable to react and went to the bedroom. Then, the next day, he recounted that when he was sleeping he woke up and the bishop was stroking the inner side of his thigh.
The other complainant, MC, who entered the seminary on February 25, 2013, also reported that the bishop hugged him from behind and supported his genitals on his buttocks. The prosecutor Filtrin Cuezzo said in the pleadings that these events were “indefinite in time” and were committed in the seminar
Juan XXIII, in the San Antonio parish and in the bishop’s house in Oran. The bishop also kissed this young man on the neck and made constant requests for massages that bothered him. The peculiarity of the acts of abuse of Zanchetta, as highlighted by the prosecutorial unit in the trial, is that they took place in the public sphere, not only in the private sphere, which is common in these crimes.
During the trial, former seminarians gave testimony. Some reported having suffered the same crimes of sexual abuse that consisted of supporting the genitals through prolonged hugs from behind, touching, requesting massages, putting fingers in the mouth and kissing the neck.
They also said that the bishop entered the bedrooms at night, that he illuminated them with a flashlight, and that in the conversations they had with him he asked them questions about their sexual intimacy. Several witnesses said that the religious organized meetings with the seminarians for whom he had a preference, in which there was always the consumption of alcoholic beverages. They also reported that the bishop exercised discrimination, authoritarianism and abuse of power.
“That someone believes us is a big step”
One of the witnesses was former seminarian Marcio Torina, who told France 24 that he is satisfied with the sentence, although he believes that the amount of the sentence could have been higher. He considered that the fact that the bishop has been convicted vindicates the complainants and those who supported them, “that someone believes us is a big step.”
He said that they had been “tried, targeted, and persecuted” within the Diocese of Oran itself, “we all ended up being victims.” He said that the diocese was divided based on the first canonical and then criminal complaints to the bishop.
Torina pointed out that in 2019 he was called to testify in the framework of the canonical process to investigate Zanchetta, which is being carried out, by order of the Vatican, by the bishop of Tucumán, Carlos Sánchez: “He has received our testimony, from at least 15 former seminarians and of cures too”. He said that to date they have not notified him of any news regarding this canonical process. Torina further explained that the first complaints against Zanchetta were brought to Rome in 2015 and 2017.
In 2017 Zanchetta was transferred from Orán to Corrientes, a province located in the northeast of Argentina, and resigned from the bishopric in July of that year, alleging “a health problem” for which he was prevented from continuing to exercise pastoral government. His resignation was accepted by Pope Francis. Three months later, Zanchetta was appointed adviser to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) of the Vatican.
“Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’”
In February 2019, the interim director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, explained that “the accusations against Zanchetta arose (…) almost a year after the Pope appointed him to a position in the Vatican”, and reported that the bishop would refrain from making such advice “while the preliminary investigation lasts.”
Former seminarian Torina recalled that the Pope said in an interview that since Zanchetta was a bishop, by ecclesiastical law he would have to be tried by him, but that he desisted from doing so because he was an Argentine and preferred to form a court to give the sentence and then he enact it. Torina recalled that Zanchetta worked at the Argentine Episcopal Conference when Jorge Bergoglio (today Pope Francis) was archbishop. “When the Pope took office, the first bishop he appointed was Zanchetta (…) We were without a bishop in Oran, on a trip in July 2013 he appointed him,” he said. “The image remains with us. Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’. When the phone rang he said ‘the Pope is calling me'”.
“Zanchetta is still a priest, he continues to have the protection of the church,” he added. He, like other faithful of the Catholic Church and former seminarians, claim the Congregation of the Faith and Pope Francis removes it from the clerical state to the religious.
The bishop emeritus is also being investigated for economic crimes, for a possible fraudulent administration or fraud against the State, during his pastoral government in the Diocese of Oran. The Public Prosecutor’s Office informed France 24 that this case is in a state of “preliminary investigation”, in charge of the criminal prosecutor Mónica Viazzi. As part of this investigation, in 2019 there was a raid on the headquarters of the bishopric of the city of Oran.
Bishop Emeritus Gustavo Zanchetta was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in Orán, a department located in the interior of the province of Salta, in northern Argentina.
The victims, identified by their initials, MC and GG, saw their freedom of sexual decision affected by the acts carried out by Zanchetta, said prosecutor Pablo Rivero. In pleading he cited the psychological and psychiatric reports of the former bishop, which present him as a person with psychopathic traits and a serious failure of impulse control; manipulator of the situation according to his convenience, who perceives others as objects to achieve his goals and who observes reality according to his own convenience.
The official defender, Enzo Gianotti, maintained that these accusations were part of a “plot” against the bishop and after the sentence he announced that he would appeal. This public attorney was questioned at the trial because he was recognized there by the former seminarians and complainants, as a professional who had been brought by Bishop Luis Scozzina to advise them regarding the complaints and told them that “there was no crime configuration”, they were unaware who later went on to represent Zanchetta in the criminal proceedings.
For Rivero “in all the cases in which an abuse in the Church is investigated, the defenses always say that they respond to a plot by other priests.” “We cannot determine the extent of the damage suffered by the victims, but we do have the obligation to give them a response from the Justice Department and give a response to the society of Oran and the entire country,” said the prosecutor.
“It was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”
In her arguments, the prosecutor María Soledad Filtrin Cuezzo, who worked together with Rivero, pointed out that “it was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”, who presented in their complaints and during the trial “internal logic, contextualization of the facts, precision of details and experiences from the anatomical, accompanied by concomitant aspects”.
According to what was reported by GG, who carried out the discernment stage since 2015 and entered the seminary on February 25, 2017, Zanchetta kissed him on the neck and reported an event in which he hugged him with one of his arms from behind and with the The hand of the other arm put a finger in her mouth. The complainant said that he remained motionless, dismayed, unable to react and went to the bedroom. Then, the next day, he recounted that when he was sleeping he woke up and the bishop was stroking the inner side of his thigh.
The other complainant, MC, who entered the seminary on February 25, 2013, also reported that the bishop hugged him from behind and supported his genitals on his buttocks. The prosecutor Filtrin Cuezzo said in the pleadings that these events were “indefinite in time” and were committed in the seminar
Juan XXIII, in the San Antonio parish and in the bishop’s house in Oran. The bishop also kissed this young man on the neck and made constant requests for massages that bothered him. The peculiarity of the acts of abuse of Zanchetta, as highlighted by the prosecutorial unit in the trial, is that they took place in the public sphere, not only in the private sphere, which is common in these crimes.
During the trial, former seminarians gave testimony. Some reported having suffered the same crimes of sexual abuse that consisted of supporting the genitals through prolonged hugs from behind, touching, requesting massages, putting fingers in the mouth and kissing the neck.
They also said that the bishop entered the bedrooms at night, that he illuminated them with a flashlight, and that in the conversations they had with him he asked them questions about their sexual intimacy. Several witnesses said that the religious organized meetings with the seminarians for whom he had a preference, in which there was always the consumption of alcoholic beverages. They also reported that the bishop exercised discrimination, authoritarianism and abuse of power.
“That someone believes us is a big step”
One of the witnesses was former seminarian Marcio Torina, who told France 24 that he is satisfied with the sentence, although he believes that the amount of the sentence could have been higher. He considered that the fact that the bishop has been convicted vindicates the complainants and those who supported them, “that someone believes us is a big step.”
He said that they had been “tried, targeted, and persecuted” within the Diocese of Oran itself, “we all ended up being victims.” He said that the diocese was divided based on the first canonical and then criminal complaints to the bishop.
Torina pointed out that in 2019 he was called to testify in the framework of the canonical process to investigate Zanchetta, which is being carried out, by order of the Vatican, by the bishop of Tucumán, Carlos Sánchez: “He has received our testimony, from at least 15 former seminarians and of cures too”. He said that to date they have not notified him of any news regarding this canonical process. Torina further explained that the first complaints against Zanchetta were brought to Rome in 2015 and 2017.
In 2017 Zanchetta was transferred from Orán to Corrientes, a province located in the northeast of Argentina, and resigned from the bishopric in July of that year, alleging “a health problem” for which he was prevented from continuing to exercise pastoral government. His resignation was accepted by Pope Francis. Three months later, Zanchetta was appointed adviser to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) of the Vatican.
“Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’”
In February 2019, the interim director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, explained that “the accusations against Zanchetta arose (…) almost a year after the Pope appointed him to a position in the Vatican”, and reported that the bishop would refrain from making such advice “while the preliminary investigation lasts.”
Former seminarian Torina recalled that the Pope said in an interview that since Zanchetta was a bishop, by ecclesiastical law he would have to be tried by him, but that he desisted from doing so because he was an Argentine and preferred to form a court to give the sentence and then he enact it. Torina recalled that Zanchetta worked at the Argentine Episcopal Conference when Jorge Bergoglio (today Pope Francis) was archbishop. “When the Pope took office, the first bishop he appointed was Zanchetta (…) We were without a bishop in Oran, on a trip in July 2013 he appointed him,” he said. “The image remains with us. Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’. When the phone rang he said ‘the Pope is calling me'”.
“Zanchetta is still a priest, he continues to have the protection of the church,” he added. He, like other faithful of the Catholic Church and former seminarians, claim the Congregation of the Faith and Pope Francis removes it from the clerical state to the religious.
The bishop emeritus is also being investigated for economic crimes, for a possible fraudulent administration or fraud against the State, during his pastoral government in the Diocese of Oran. The Public Prosecutor’s Office informed France 24 that this case is in a state of “preliminary investigation”, in charge of the criminal prosecutor Mónica Viazzi. As part of this investigation, in 2019 there was a raid on the headquarters of the bishopric of the city of Oran.
Bishop Emeritus Gustavo Zanchetta was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in Orán, a department located in the interior of the province of Salta, in northern Argentina.
The victims, identified by their initials, MC and GG, saw their freedom of sexual decision affected by the acts carried out by Zanchetta, said prosecutor Pablo Rivero. In pleading he cited the psychological and psychiatric reports of the former bishop, which present him as a person with psychopathic traits and a serious failure of impulse control; manipulator of the situation according to his convenience, who perceives others as objects to achieve his goals and who observes reality according to his own convenience.
The official defender, Enzo Gianotti, maintained that these accusations were part of a “plot” against the bishop and after the sentence he announced that he would appeal. This public attorney was questioned at the trial because he was recognized there by the former seminarians and complainants, as a professional who had been brought by Bishop Luis Scozzina to advise them regarding the complaints and told them that “there was no crime configuration”, they were unaware who later went on to represent Zanchetta in the criminal proceedings.
For Rivero “in all the cases in which an abuse in the Church is investigated, the defenses always say that they respond to a plot by other priests.” “We cannot determine the extent of the damage suffered by the victims, but we do have the obligation to give them a response from the Justice Department and give a response to the society of Oran and the entire country,” said the prosecutor.
“It was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”
In her arguments, the prosecutor María Soledad Filtrin Cuezzo, who worked together with Rivero, pointed out that “it was possible to establish the veracity, plausibility and credibility of the victims”, who presented in their complaints and during the trial “internal logic, contextualization of the facts, precision of details and experiences from the anatomical, accompanied by concomitant aspects”.
According to what was reported by GG, who carried out the discernment stage since 2015 and entered the seminary on February 25, 2017, Zanchetta kissed him on the neck and reported an event in which he hugged him with one of his arms from behind and with the The hand of the other arm put a finger in her mouth. The complainant said that he remained motionless, dismayed, unable to react and went to the bedroom. Then, the next day, he recounted that when he was sleeping he woke up and the bishop was stroking the inner side of his thigh.
The other complainant, MC, who entered the seminary on February 25, 2013, also reported that the bishop hugged him from behind and supported his genitals on his buttocks. The prosecutor Filtrin Cuezzo said in the pleadings that these events were “indefinite in time” and were committed in the seminar
Juan XXIII, in the San Antonio parish and in the bishop’s house in Oran. The bishop also kissed this young man on the neck and made constant requests for massages that bothered him. The peculiarity of the acts of abuse of Zanchetta, as highlighted by the prosecutorial unit in the trial, is that they took place in the public sphere, not only in the private sphere, which is common in these crimes.
During the trial, former seminarians gave testimony. Some reported having suffered the same crimes of sexual abuse that consisted of supporting the genitals through prolonged hugs from behind, touching, requesting massages, putting fingers in the mouth and kissing the neck.
They also said that the bishop entered the bedrooms at night, that he illuminated them with a flashlight, and that in the conversations they had with him he asked them questions about their sexual intimacy. Several witnesses said that the religious organized meetings with the seminarians for whom he had a preference, in which there was always the consumption of alcoholic beverages. They also reported that the bishop exercised discrimination, authoritarianism and abuse of power.
“That someone believes us is a big step”
One of the witnesses was former seminarian Marcio Torina, who told France 24 that he is satisfied with the sentence, although he believes that the amount of the sentence could have been higher. He considered that the fact that the bishop has been convicted vindicates the complainants and those who supported them, “that someone believes us is a big step.”
He said that they had been “tried, targeted, and persecuted” within the Diocese of Oran itself, “we all ended up being victims.” He said that the diocese was divided based on the first canonical and then criminal complaints to the bishop.
Torina pointed out that in 2019 he was called to testify in the framework of the canonical process to investigate Zanchetta, which is being carried out, by order of the Vatican, by the bishop of Tucumán, Carlos Sánchez: “He has received our testimony, from at least 15 former seminarians and of cures too”. He said that to date they have not notified him of any news regarding this canonical process. Torina further explained that the first complaints against Zanchetta were brought to Rome in 2015 and 2017.
In 2017 Zanchetta was transferred from Orán to Corrientes, a province located in the northeast of Argentina, and resigned from the bishopric in July of that year, alleging “a health problem” for which he was prevented from continuing to exercise pastoral government. His resignation was accepted by Pope Francis. Three months later, Zanchetta was appointed adviser to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) of the Vatican.
“Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’”
In February 2019, the interim director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, explained that “the accusations against Zanchetta arose (…) almost a year after the Pope appointed him to a position in the Vatican”, and reported that the bishop would refrain from making such advice “while the preliminary investigation lasts.”
Former seminarian Torina recalled that the Pope said in an interview that since Zanchetta was a bishop, by ecclesiastical law he would have to be tried by him, but that he desisted from doing so because he was an Argentine and preferred to form a court to give the sentence and then he enact it. Torina recalled that Zanchetta worked at the Argentine Episcopal Conference when Jorge Bergoglio (today Pope Francis) was archbishop. “When the Pope took office, the first bishop he appointed was Zanchetta (…) We were without a bishop in Oran, on a trip in July 2013 he appointed him,” he said. “The image remains with us. Zanchetta insistently said ‘I am a friend of Francisco’. When the phone rang he said ‘the Pope is calling me'”.
“Zanchetta is still a priest, he continues to have the protection of the church,” he added. He, like other faithful of the Catholic Church and former seminarians, claim the Congregation of the Faith and Pope Francis removes it from the clerical state to the religious.
The bishop emeritus is also being investigated for economic crimes, for a possible fraudulent administration or fraud against the State, during his pastoral government in the Diocese of Oran. The Public Prosecutor’s Office informed France 24 that this case is in a state of “preliminary investigation”, in charge of the criminal prosecutor Mónica Viazzi. As part of this investigation, in 2019 there was a raid on the headquarters of the bishopric of the city of Oran.