Argentinie priesters en een aartsbisschop

An Argentine priest went on trial Tuesday, charged with 17 counts of sexual abuse and corruption of three young boys in one of the first major public sex scandals involving the Catholic Church there.

Prosecutors say Julio Grassi, 52, sexually abused three boys, including two minors, who attended his well-known "Happy the Children" Foundation for underprivileged youth. The boys are three of the more than 350 witnesses who will testify against Grassi over the next few months, including the archbishop of Buenos Aires.

"Happy the Children" Foundation, created in 1993, converted Grassi into a renowned charity figure in Argentina, allowing him to bring in thousands of dollars in donations, many from important public figures who have since distanced themselves from the priest.

Grassi reiterated his innocence Tuesday during an abruptly called recess due to alleged "irregularities" in the case, according to his lawyers. The priest has a Web site on which he also declares his innocence and says his life's purpose is "to save children from a life on the street."

Grassi's case went public in October 2002 when a local television station aired an investigative report detailing the priest's alleged sexual abuse.

In another well-publicized case a month earlier, Monsignor Edgardo Storni had to step down as archbishop of the central Argentine town of Santa Fe following accusations he sexually abused seminarians and young priests. Storni denied the charges.

More than 90 percent of Argentines identify themselves as Catholics, although less than 20 percent are practicing. (Jeannette Neumann, AP)

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The pope has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Edgardo Storni of Santa Fe, Argentina, following reports of Storni being involved in sexual assaults against seminarians.
Conscience, December, 2002
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In 1994 Storni was subject to an investigation ordered by the Vatican, led by Monsignor José María Arancibia, after allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarists, who were questioned, together with some of their family members, by Arancibia and a psychologist, at the home of Monsignor Estanislao Karlic in Paraná.

Soon after the scandal broke out, in February 1995 Storni employed his contacts with then-Apostolic Nuncio Ubaldo Calabressi to arrange a trip to the Vatican. There he was received and ratified in his post by Pope John Paul II.
The investigation was set aside.

In 2002 the book Our Holy Mother, by the renowned Misiones-born journalist Olga Wornat, was presented at the Santa Fe Book Fair. The book recounted the history of the accusations against Storni, and mentions an episode of threats against a priest, José Guntern, who had written a letter to the Archbishop asking for him to resign on account of his misconduct (sexual activity with a seminarist).

According to Guntern, he was taken practically by force to Storni's house and forced to recant and stay silent.

The political climate had changed. While Storni has close relations with members of the local élite, the Catholic Church had been shaken by the wave of abuse allegations in the United States. Storni travelled to Rome on 28 August, where he met the Pope and several other Argentine bishops.

Storni resigned his post on 1 October, stating that this did not signify guilt.

He returned to Argentina and went to live at Los Leones, a large farm and horse ranch owned by Eduardo González Kess near Llambí Campbell, 60 km away from Santa Fe's capital. He then moved to a secluded ecclesiastic residence in La Falda, Córdoba; since he is formally still a bishop, he receives a pension paid by the state, as per the financial support of the Church mandated by the Argentine Constitution.