ARGENTINA
Sowetan (South Africa)
SEP 25, 2013 | SAPA-AFP
A high-profile Argentine priest who began a 15-year prison sentence for pedophilia this week has been barred from priestly work and his case sent to the Vatican, church officials said Tuesday.
Julio Cesar Grassi, 57, who was on provisional release since a 2009 trial, began his sentence after an appeal court in Buenos Aires upheld his conviction.
Grassi was found guilty of abusing a 15-year-old boy who had been living at the Felices los Ninos (Happy are the Children) foundation in Hurlingham, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Buenos Aires during the 1990s.
Two other victims later came forward with their own stories of abuse by the priest.
Tuesday, the diocese of Moron said Grassi now was barred from priestly duties.
“The diocese of Moron, in line with its rights to do so, applied the disciplinary sanction of barring him from priestly work until his case is settled,” a statement from the diocese said.
“An investigation, as well as a report on the trial and behavior of Father Grassi have been sent to the Holy See” for review, it added.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.