SPAIN
El Pais
JOSÉ ANTONIO HERNÁNDEZ
The Granada priests under court investigation for pedophilia worked much like a sect, with an elected leader and brainwashing sessions for their victims, sources familiar with the case have said.
The inquiry was triggered by a letter that a victim sent Pope Francis, who personally phoned the young man and ordered an internal investigation into the allegations.
State investigators are focusing on a parish located near the Andalusian city’s Zaidín neighborhood. This is where the priests, who were all friends, attracted minors to act as their assistants during mass and imbue them with religious ideas. Some of the suspects worked at other churches in the capital and outlying municipalities.
Led by one of their own, the priests also held secret meetings with the youngsters to talk openly about sex and argue that it was not a sin to engage in sexual relations with them, the same sources said. The victims were routinely subjected to brutal sexual practices.
The 10 priests and two laypeople under scrutiny also maintained sexual relations with one another at gatherings that took place several times a week. Some of the suspects are thought to have covered up for the pedophiles but refrained from taking part in the practices themselves.
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