The Schöenstatt movement in Argentina expressed this Monday “deep pain” over the arrest of priest Patricio Cruz Viale, accused of sexual abuse, while expressing “support and empathy” towards the complainant.
The arrest occurred this Saturday in the province of Córdoba following an order issued by the province’s Prosecutor for Crimes against Sexual Integrity, headed by Juan Ávila Echenique.
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The complaint, made earlier this year by an adult woman, points to the priest as the author of outrageous sexual abuse qualified for having been committed by a minister of religion, according to the newspaper. The Nation.
Upon hearing the news, the Provincial Superior of the Secular Institute of Schöenstatt Fathers in Argentina, Fr. Pablo Javier Pol, issued a statement in which he expresses “deep pain” when reporting the priest’s arrest.
“In an exercise of transparency and commitment to the truth, the Community of Schöenstatt Fathers confirms that we have received a complaint against Father Cruz Viale, made by an adult woman. This complaint has been presented both in the ordinary criminal justice system and in the canonical sphere,” he specifies.
Likewise, it expresses “sincere support and empathy towards the complainant, entrusting us to the Blessed Virgin to provide her protection and peace to both her and all those affected.”
“In these moments of difficulty, our community unites in prayer, asking for the healing and justice that all people involved require,” he closes.
The Schöenstatt movement
Founded in 1914 in Germany by Father Joseph Kentenich, the Schöenstatt movement today has a presence in 110 countries. Its spirituality is based on the so-called “Covenant of Love with Mary”, a consecration that encourages living holiness in daily life, under the model of the Virgin Mary.
With the slogan “Alliance that transforms”, the movement has thousands of members in Argentina, distributed in different dioceses, with different communities and apostolates. The greatest expansion in the country occurred from the 1970s, and today it has 24 sanctuaries in different parts of the territory.
The national Schoenstatt sanctuary is the so-called “Father Sanctuary”, located in the Buenos Aires town of Florencio Varela and blessed by Father José Kentenich in 1952.
Among the Schöenstatt communities, the Secular Institutes, Federations and groups of the League stand out, all of them with a presence in Argentina, where the movement also has its own schools and sanatoriums, such as the Mater Dei in Buenos Aires, and social work services.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.