Chilean priest who helped steal babies from unwed mothers will be moved to Spain, Catholic Church confirms

By Carol Kuruvilla
New York Daily News
August 13, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/catholic-chilean-priest-helped-steal-babies-unwed-mothers-church-confirms-article-1.1902589

The Catholic Church in Chile announced that it found credible evidence to confirm that Father Gerardo Joannon was involved in a network that stole newborn babies from single, unwed mothers.

The Archdiocese of Santiago conducted an internal probe into the scandal.

The Chilean Catholic church is punishing an alleged baby-stealing priest by sending him to Spain for a period of “reflection.”

The church confirmed Tuesday that Father Gerardo Joannon “actively participated” in the forced adoptions of at least two babies, who were snatched from their unwed single mothers more than thirty years ago and handed off to married couples who raised them in traditional Catholic families. Joannon was also allegedly engaged in an “inappropriate relationship” with one mother.

But since so much time has passed, church officials have chosen to send Joannon to Madrid in October “to initiate a process of psychological and spiritual accompaniment,” the Catholic News Service reports. Joannon will not have any pastoral responsibilities during his time in Spain.

Officials from Chile’s child protection agency have urged the Chilean church to keep the priest inside the country to "clarify the truth in this case."

Father Alex Vigueras, a regional head who has led the internal probe, said that Joannon was willing to return if he was needed by justice officials.

“He should assume his responsibilities and ask for forgiveness," Vigueras said, according to the Catholic Courier.

The underground baby-stealing network was made up of wealthy families, gynecologists, social workers, lawyers and priests, The Guardian reports.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the ring reportedly took advantage of single moms who became pregnant out of wedlock. The women were allegedly pressured by priests and their well-to-do family members to give their children up for adoption. The stigma of being an unmarried mom was so strong during that era that some mothers reluctantly gave in. Those who refused were anesthetized during the delivery and later told that their babies had died.

Joannon has reportedly participated in funeral masses for the supposedly dead children, Vigueras confirmed, even though he knew the truth.

Joannon "always knew that (children in question) didn't die at birth,” Vigueras said.

Joannon told Spanish-language magazine Ciper that his role in the network was limited and that his goal was to prevent abortions.

"A young single woman who had a baby was looked at very badly," the priest told Ciper in March. "I wouldn't say it scrubbed out their life, but it was something close to that. Nobody wanted to marry them."

“The only thing I did was put (the pregnant young women) in contact with a doctor who made the effort to find families that were desiring to have a child,” he continued.

Joannon isn’t the only priest who has been linked to the underground network. Chile’s public prosecutors are looking into several other cases.

An activist group representing victims of priest abuse was furious about the Chilean church’s decision to send Joannon to Spain — especially because of the allegations of an inappropriate relationship with one woman.

“By this callous and reckless act, Catholic officials are actually making a terrible situation worse — moving a predator to somewhere his abusive and criminal acts are less well known and thus more apt to be repeated,” said David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.