“You came to the shore”: they denounced the priest who created the most famous mass chants for the sexual abuse of minors

When I learned that the priest who composed the most famous mass chants on the planet had been accused of abusing minors, I was not surprised. In a way, I imagined something like this could happen. And it wasn’t just a hunch, he had reason to think so.

In a recent newspaper article The country from Spain serious complaints were lodged by four former students of the Marista de Chamberí College in Madrid, who accused the priest Cesáreo Gabaráin having sexually assaulted them. The revelation fell like a bomb, since the priest is famous in Spain.

The priest was so popular that his mass songs received a gold record. He has written over 500 songs, but his merit is not in quantity. His songs were inspiring, catchy and catchy. They were so easy to remember that you didn’t even have to read the songbook. Thanks to his contribution, there was never a shortage of a guitar and a youth choir next to the altar.

Here in Argentina, Catholics know their repertoire very well. If you’ve ever been to mass it will surely sound like you “Together like brothers”, “They come with joy”, “The peak” (which is a very high theme that was sung at the time of communion) and “You came to the shore” hitazo also known as “Fisherman of men”, words with which one could well title this note.

This case reminded me of a process that touched me very closely. This is the judgment against Fernando Picciochi an Argentine ex-cleric who was sentenced for sexual abuse to 12 years in prison. I learned about this case firsthand because I was still a student at Colegio Marianista when several minors abused there.

When Eduardo Mendoza, the main complainant of the Spanish priest, said The country than his attacker “He was like Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde: on the one hand a charismatic and popular priest, (…) and on the other a pedophile; something unimaginable for all those who admired him ”, I have the impression that he is talking about Picciochi. The world is so small and human beings are predictable.

Cesareo’s abuses took place in a retirement home that the Marists had in Los Molinos, in the mountains of Madrid; while the Argentinian abuses took place in a summer camp that Marianists have in the mountains of Cordoba. But the biggest coincidence is that the modus operandi for the abuse was almost the same: entering the boys’ rooms when everyone was asleep.

No more coincidences. When the complaints first arose, the response from church authorities was virtually the same. Cesáreo has been transferred to Colegio Salesiano de San Fernando, Madrid. While in Argentina, Picciochi was sent away by his superiors: in Catriel, Rio Negro.

At this point, the differences open up. Finally Fernando Picciochi was arrested by Interpol in 2007 in the United States where he resided, a fugitive from Justice, with a false identity. Whereas, on the contrary, the fate of Cesáreo Gabaráin was diametrically opposed. So much so that those who denounced him they couldn’t believe they had seen it.

Two months after the complaint, Cesáreo was appointed Honorary Prelate of John Paul II, a distinction that the Pope only reserves for the most worthy and remarkable priests. Was Karol Wojtila a fan of the song “Fisher of men”, one of Cesáreo’s hits. The proof (you can check it on YouTube) is that the Polish Pope sang the song in Spanish and in full during his visit to Guatemala in 1983.

Someone might say that the Pope was not aware of Cesáreo Gabaráin’s abuses. But no one can deny that there were many who knew what was going on and hid it. Like delving into old Tweets, today I find new meaning in the song Together as Brothers when she says: “We cannot move forward without the help of the Lord”. That is, there is always a man above who helps them get out of it and who is not exactly God.

Another Cesáreo theme which is almost a hymn in Spain and is called: “Death is not the end”. Because although the Spanish priest died in 1991 at the age of 55, the case will again be investigated by the Marist Fathers and by the authorities of the Archdiocese of Madrid. In the assurance that it is late, this may only be valid as a symbol of what needs to be done in the future.