Bishop Buenanueva: "There was a system of illness in the Church that covered the abuses"

"This is one of the most serious the Church has seen in recent times," said Bishop Sergio Buenanueva about the problem of
badual abuse by religious men and women who afflict the Catholic Church.

Buenanueva is 55 years old, is bishop of San Francisco, Córdoba and coordinator of the Pastoral Council for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults of the Episcopal Conference. Your task is to try to control the crisis.

"Today, the big job is preventive," Buenanueva said. Although he thinks it is necessary, he admits that the Argentine Church does not have a registry of attackers among its members.

"I do not know if there are more, that's for sure, there's no less," he admits
the 63 concordant denunciations against religious accused of abuse in the last 20 years that have thrown the investigation of LA NACION.

– How serious is the abuse situation in the Church?

– For me, it's a very serious crisis. It is one of the most serious crises that the Church has experienced recently. Because when we talk about the crisis of abuse, we are talking about two things: abuse, which is the most terrible thing; and the other dimension of the crisis is what has become very clear during this last period, namely, a system within the sick Church that concealed or did not favor the disclosure of abuses and ended up favoring the aggressor. . This is the most serious point for me: how did we lose sight of the fact that the good thing to defend was not the good image of the Church, but the good of it? a person whom Christ has placed at the center of our mission?

-And how was it possible?

There is a concatenation of causes. I believe that we are the ecclesiastical structure, the way of exercising the ministry, privileging the dimension of power that the priesthood possesses. Then, an ecclesial system that foolishly privileged the reputation of the institution, believing that we had protected it by hiding it, making it difficult to resolve these cases.

How many cases have you registered in the country during your term on the Council?

-We could not make a record. One of the objectives, like the episcopates of other countries, is to have a more precise idea of ​​the number of cases in Argentina. This is a task in our country, a very important task because it will give us a more accurate picture of the actual figures.

– What's stopping this recount?

-The Episcopate is taking its first steps and we have installed this issue among the Argentine bishops. And we must take a delicate step, because it is a question of clarifying a difficult situation for all.

-How do they do the task of prevention without the diagnosis? It's like doing an economic policy without a credible Indec …

– very understandable. With the prevention of abuse is not that we are starting from scratch. We have listed people who already have experience, beyond what has been said with organizations working in the field of badual abuse of children. But undoubtedly, to the extent that we have a clearer picture of the actual situation of the Catholic ministries of Argentina, this prevention will be more than effective.

-Are all your colleagues on the same page as you or are you reluctant to make this list or cope with this policy change?

-There is no resistance in the moral sense opposed by someone. But realizing that it's a change of mindset that is not easy to do. At the recent summit in Rome, which was a model prepared in a very positive way, episcopates appeared as the Chilean, the American, the German, who have many stages in front of us. It's a change of mindset in management, which is the most difficult to achieve. I am optimistic because what is really happening in the church, for example in the secular field, is anger, worry. These are the laity, and in their way also the priests, those who say to us: "Look, bishops, it changes or changes it".

– Is the survival of the Church on this issue?

-Totally. The fall of credibility today is the great theme worked
at the Vatican summit and those who advise the pope emphasize it more closely with rudeness. We are obviously believers and believe that Jesus Christ is with us. Even if it's a rest of his church, he will stay. But this deeply undermines the credibility of the Church.

-The LA NACION survey revealed 63 cases of religious with reports of badual abuse. Do you think a credible figure?

Yes For the Church to cope with these crises, three decisive factors have been retained: the courage of the victims; Ant investigation work for journalists and state justice. It has not been easy to recognize the dimension of the crime of badual abuse. For a bishop, it is very difficult to punish a priest, this was also a cause, but also to recognize that it is a crime at the level of secular justice. The way in which the Church addresses this problem internally at any given time must be clearly subordinated to secular justice. This is where the legitimate critics of the canonical process come from. The standards of transparency of the canonical process must be adapted to the standards of transparency of the exercise of secular justice. As for the number, I do not know if there is more, it is surely not less. It's safe.

– Apart from the issue of abuse, there was a pastoral praxis related to transfers. When a priest was named in a situation of abuse, in many cases, what the bishop was doing was sending him to another bishop. Do you recognize the existence of this practice? Do you know that beyond the abuses, the silence with which this issue was dealt with also caused a lot of damage?

-The practice was usual, not only here but everywhere. This is recognized where the most thorough investigations have been conducted, such as in the United States or Germany. This has been the practice and the Church has already changed course, which does not mean that someone still trailing. I can not say that, but I can say that today the Church has another look and that bishops are facing this problem without transferring the priest.

-On transfers, what was the reason?

-It is dramatic: there was no awareness of the damage that it means in the person. You have to think that a lot of victims have committed suicide, that is terrible. Not being aware of this seriousness led to saying, "Well, we've changed it, it has another look, maybe in another context.", And in another context, the problem s & # 39, is multiplied. It was very hard, but healthily hard, to hear the victims tell us: "You hurt us more".

– Why do so many priests or even religious engage in this type of crime?

– I believe that a good proportion, I do not say the majority, are people who may never have been admitted into the priesthood. He admitted them without having made this check, which is now done.

– Do you consider that there is a relationship between the commitments regarding celibacy and baduality made by priests and this situation?

-Yes, there is a link. Celibacy itself does not make the adult a badual predator, but it is a significant risk factor, especially for people who, due to a situation of personal immaturity , should not embrace the single life. The experience of baduality in celibacy has its complexity that does not have the life of a person who normally lives bad. Sexual intercourse is not just about baduality. When it is well lived it is the affection, it is the link, it is knowing to be part of someone, to share life, children. This is why we give up singles and this complicates our life as well as the experience of our own baduality. In some cases, it is a risk factor that can lead to behavior such as abuse. The bishops of Germany have put the debate on celibacy on the table. These are things that happen and I do not know how they will solve it, but I think that saying it clearly is a very good thing.

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