The Archbishopric of La Plata revealed that during this year there was an investigation within the Miles Christi Institute for a complaint of sexual abuse against one of its priests. The fact became known through a harsh statement from the entity that leads Víctor Manuel Fernández to deny a series of issues related to the breach of a contract with said congregation, which was in charge of the San Luis Gonzaga de Villa Elisa parish and the San Francisco de Asís School.
as told 0221.com.ar, from Miles Christi they assured: “We have not received serious accusations of any kind, neither of abuses nor of any other crime, either in the Parish (San Luis Gonzaga) or in the School (San Francisco de Asís)”. In turn, they mentioned the expulsion of whoever was the founder of the Institute, Roberto Juan Yanuzzi. It is that after a canonical trial, the priest was found guilty of the crimes of abuse of authority in his government and sexual abuse with adults. The complaints were made by parish priests and seminarians.
However, from the Archdiocese stated that “The Miles Christi priests imply that apart from what happened with their founder, they have not had accusations of abuse or of any kind” and they remarked: “Beyond issues mentioned in confidential testimonies, which are not formally accusations and which we do not have powers to disseminate through this means, I must inform you that in the course of this year there is an investigation due to a complaint of sexual abuse filed against a priest” of that congregation.
In this sense, they warned that the accusation It was presented to the Superior General of that Congregation during the first semester of this year and later referred to the Archdiocese, expanded and finally presented in the state Justice. “Not giving this information after what was said in that statement would imply some form of concealment or cover-up of a formally filed complaint”they emphasized.
On the resignation of Yanuzzi, the entity led by Víctor Manuel Fernández clarified that it is false that only the members of Miles Christi dealt with the expulsion of its founder. “There is a letter dated March 11, 2019 addressed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with which the Archbishop himself presented the documentation that led to the conviction, stating: ‘I have decided to submit, together with this letter, the complete file of the expulsion procedure of Father Roberto Yannuzzi to that Congregation in order to inform the facts on file, and receive the indications that were appropriate to follow, according to law, such a delicate matter.”, they explained, while stating: “Then he had various communications with the Nuncio in Mexico to help expedite the procedures, in addition to various conversations with the officer Bertomeu, from Doctrina de la Fe, in order to quickly achieve the conclusion to the one that came This to the point that the founder, in a note to the Holy See, attributed his condemnation only to the Archbishop and not to the Institute, with the following well-documented sentence communicated by the Prefect of the Congregation: ‘the partiality and corruption (fixing) of you as Ordinary of La Plata’”.
In another passage of the text, the local Archdiocese emphasizes that the accusation that the Vatican allowed itself to be pressured by Víctor Manuel Fernández to send a Visitor and a Commissioner to Miles Christi is “very serious”. “The truth is that we know very well that when a new Religious Institute suffers serious and well-founded accusations against its founder, some time later the Holy See sends a Visitor who analyzes the situation and later the steps to follow are analyzed through a Commissioner”, detailed and invited the members of the congregation to “regain calm to avoid unnecessary scandals”.
HOW DID THE CONTROVERSY START?
This Tuesday, the Archbishop of La Plata, Victor Manuel “Tucho” Fernandez, announced the termination of the contract with the Miles Christi Institute, which was in charge of the San Luis Gonzaga de Villa Elisa parish and the San Francisco de Asís School. Through a statement, Fernández explained that the reason for his decision was the recent expulsion of Yanuzzi. However, from this congregation they pointed out that the parish priest was thrown out of the Church after a canonical trial, following serious complaints of sexual abuse and authority made by seminarians and priests.
“The Miles Christi Institute had been in Villa Elisa for more than 20 years, being in charge of the San Luis Gonzaga parish and the San Francisco de Asís school, which were the subject of a contract signed on July 6, 2006,” it was reported from the Archbishopric.
In turn, they detailed that the Vatican sent a “visitor who made a detailed report. Lately, based on that report, he sent a Commissioner with all the authority to make decisions.”they indicated, while adding: “We agreed with the Commissioner of the Holy See to rescind that contract of the year 2006, so that the Archdiocese of La Plata will resume the management of the parish and the school.”
In another passage of the text, Archbishop Fernández appointed as the new parish priest of the San Luis Gonzaga parish the priest Marcelo Cerniatowho will assume his duties in March 2023 and will be sworn in on Sunday, March 5.
At the San Francisco de Asís school, he has appointed, as of January 8, a Stella Maris Crivelli Already Ignacio Manuel Sanguinetti as legal representatives. “The other lay people who work as directors, teachers or administrators of the school will normally continue in their functions carrying out the tasks foreseen”said the Archbishop.
In the statement, Tucho highlighted: “All Church institutions have different stages, parishes change parish priests, but that does not imply a break. The best thing is to try to recover everything that is valuable in the previous stage and continue serving generously, with passion for the Kingdom of God. There is no need to fear that, if there are groups, institutions or positive tasks, the fact that they pass to the management of priests of the Archdiocese can destroy all the good. You just have to be willing that what has already been done can be transformed under the guidance of the Spirit, can be enriched and continue to grow,” he said.
Lastly, the Archbishop thanked the task and effort of all the priests of Miles Christi who passed through that institution. “Surely each one will have left something good. May the Lord reward them. They themselves know that we are all passing through (me too) and that the Lord’s boat continues on. This is what in fact has already happened in the parish of El Dique or in Nuestra Señora Desatanudoswhich until recently were in charge of religious congregations, to give just two very recent examples”, closes the text.
THE RESPONSE OF MILES CHRISTI
In this framework, the Miles Christi Institute informed its community that the termination of the contract was “a decision of the Pontifical Commissioner for Miles Christi” together with Víctor Manuel Fernández. In turn, they mentioned the expulsion of whoever was the founding priest of the Institute. “We have not received serious accusations of any kind, neither of abuses nor of any other crime, either in the Parish (San Luis Gonzaga) or in the College (San Francisco de Asís).”, they indicated, while adding: “We will continue developing the apostolate in the San Ignacio de La Plata Center and the Santo Tomás Moro School”. Something that was harshly denied by the Archbishopric.
They also highlighted that since 2014, the religious of the Institute began an internal investigation into Yanuzzi’s behavior, which led to his suspension as Superior General in July 2016 by the Archbishop of La Plata. “After the General Chapter of Miles Christi, in November 2018, the authorities of the Institute, together with all its members, began the canonical process that concluded with the expulsion of the Founder from the clerical state by the Holy See in December 2019.”they underlined.
Finally, the members of the congregation thanked from the heart “all the numerous endorsements and expressions of support and affection that we have been receiving in these difficult circumstances”
WHAT IS MILES CHRISTI
On his website, Miles Christi introduces himself as a “religious institute that brings together Priests and Coadjutor Brothers who, with divine grace, propose, above all, to tend fervently to holiness, for the greater glory of Godardently dedicating ourselves to the sanctification of the laity, mainly young university students”.
In 2016, the institute launched a canonical investigation to determine if Yanuzzi, was guilty of the crimes of abuse of authority in his government and sexual abuse with adults. It should be noted that said process was reported to the competent authority, the Archdiocese of La Plata.
In February 2020, the Pope Francisco imposed the resignation of the clerical state to the priest Yannuzzi. His decision was made public through a statement from the Archbishopric of La Plata: “He has been found guilty of crimes against the sixth commandment (impure acts) with adults, of acquittal of the accomplice and abuse of authority”.
consulted by 0221.com.arfrom Miles Christi they pointed out that Tucho Fernández’s statement highlights that the reason for breaking the contract is the “recent” expulsion of Yanuzzi but “the truth is that he was expelled from the Church in February 2020 after a canonical trial for sexual abuse and abuse of authority by the seminarians and priests of the congregation. He was immediately suspended assuming the father Gonzalo Sanguinetti”. Along these lines, they indicated that “Yanuzzi had been a disciple of Pope Francis and the news of the reasons for his expulsion was published in various important media around the world, including in the New York Times“.
Following the statement from the Archdiocese of La Plata, Miles Christi informed his community that “after 22 years of service to the Archdiocese of La Plata in the parish of San Luis Gonzaga in Villa Elisa, the Pontifical Commissioner for Miles Christi together with the Archbishop of La Plata, have decided to terminate the contract between the Religious Institute and the Archdiocese, which expired in 2056”. And they added: “We inform you with regret that we will have to leave the San Francisco de Asís Parish School and the Villa Elisa Parish, as of March 1. We entrust ourselves to your prayers, and we ask you for special prayers for the parishioners and the educational community of the school.
