Pope Leo XIV's visit to Argentina is drawing renewed attention to long-standing allegations of sexual abuse and other crimes involving Catholic clergy and lay members. Survivors are demanding more decisive action from the Vatican against those accused or convicted.
Victims have voiced frustration over the Vatican's perceived silence regarding church proceedings against priests who have been convicted in criminal courts. They are advocating for defrocking, the most severe disciplinary punishment the Catholic Church can impose, for those found guilty.
The papal visit, originally scheduled from November 8-11, has been met with mixed reactions.
Some survivors hope to meet with Pope Leo XIV to share their experiences and press for action. However, others, including members of a network of clergy abuse survivors, have expressed opposition to the visit, citing the Church's failure to uphold its promise of "zero tolerance" for abuse.
Abuse Allegations in Córdoba
Pope Leo XIV is slated to visit Córdoba province, where Priest Alejandro Nicola faces accusations of sexually abusing children at a Catholic school’s kindergarten, primarily in 2025. More than a dozen families have filed complaints, leading to a prosecutorial investigation and a preliminary inquiry by the local church.
Nicola was observed celebrating Mass at Córdoba’s cathedral in July, despite the ongoing allegations, which angered the families of the alleged victims. The Pope is expected to visit the same cathedral during his trip.
Florencia Navarro and Fernanda Agüero, who accuse Nicola of abusing their daughters, have criticized church and school authorities for their response to the allegations. "I would like him to provide explanations, since they talk so much about protecting the vulnerable," Navarro stated, referring to the Pope.
Agüero expressed hope that the Pope's message would be accompanied by "concrete actions" rather than just words.
Cordoba Archbishop Ángel Rossi has invoked the presumption of innocence for the priest when questioned about the case. Nicola has not publicly addressed the allegations, stating only that "the lawyers will take care of that." His defense team has not issued public comments.
Opus Dei Faces Trafficking Allegations
A group of 43 women who claim to have been subjected to human trafficking and forced labor at Opus Dei centers in Argentina are seeking to meet the Pope in Buenos Aires. The allegations implicate senior members of the conservative Catholic organization, including its global leader, Fernando Ocáriz.
Prosecutors have requested that several former Opus Dei vicars in South America and a former regional secretary of its women’s section be summoned for questioning, alongside Mariano Fazio, the organization’s second-highest-ranking official. However, a judge has not yet ordered their summons.
Investigators are also examining claims that these women were recruited as teenagers under false pretenses and forced to work 12 to 16 hours daily as unpaid domestic servants, under conditions of isolation and strict control, between the 1970s and 2015.
Their lawyer, Sebastián Sal, is requesting a meeting with the Pope and has called for Ocáriz to also face charges. The women are seeking the Pope's intervention within Opus Dei and a public apology from its leaders. They report that the Vatican has not responded to a formal complaint filed in 2021.
"We were just little girls when we entered. They will never give us back the dignity they stole from us," said Andrea Martínez, 52, who joined an Opus Dei center in Buenos Aires as a teenager. Rosana Vaccon, another complainant, stated that she was isolated from her family and did not receive letters informing her of her father’s severe illness.
Opus Dei authorities in Argentina have categorically denied the allegations.
Abuse of Deaf Children
One of Argentina's most prominent clergy abuse scandals involved dozens of deaf children at the Antonio Próvolo Institute in Mendoza between 2005 and 2016. In September, a court sentenced former nun Kumiko Kosaka to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing five students.
In 2019, two priests received lengthy prison sentences: Horacio Corbacho was sentenced to 45 years, and Italian priest Nicola Corradi received a 42-year sentence. Corradi died while under house arrest.
Survivors have criticized the Vatican for not publicly announcing the outcome of canonical proceedings against Corbacho, which began in 2017. A Vatican-appointed judicial vicar had recommended that both priests be dismissed from the clergy.
Other Convicted Priests Retain Clerical Status
Survivors' groups are also calling for the removal of clerical status from several high-profile priests convicted of serious crimes, including Christian Von Wernich, Julio Grassi, and former Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta.
Von Wernich, a former police chaplain, was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 for his involvement in seven murders and numerous kidnappings and torture cases during Argentina’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship. An investigation by Argentina’s bishops was announced that year, but no canonical sanction has been made public.
Grassi, formerly a prominent figure who managed orphanages, is serving a 15-year sentence for sexually abusing a minor. Survivors state that the Vatican has not announced a decision on his clerical status despite receiving a formal report from the Diocese of Morón. Pope Francis, then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, commissioned a study in 2010 that concluded Grassi was innocent.
Zanchetta, a former bishop with ties to Pope Francis, was sentenced in 2022 to 4 1/2 years in prison for sexually abusing two seminarians. He was granted parole in 2025, leading to renewed demands for his defrocking. Francis had initially dismissed accusations against Zanchetta and created a position for him at the Vatican to remove him from Argentina. The late Pope eventually authorized a canonical criminal proceeding against Zanchetta in 2019, but the Vatican has not publicly announced a ruling.
The Vatican did not respond to requests for comment on the canonical status of convicted clergy. The Argentine dioceses responsible for overseeing these cases also did not respond.
The Vatican typically delays initiating canonical trials until all criminal appeals are exhausted to avoid prejudicing outcomes. However, it does recommend that bishops take precautionary measures during investigations, such as removing priests from active ministry.