The Vatican has opened a
probe into a priest in Mexico accused of sexually abusing over
100 children over the course of 30 years.
A spokesperson for the archdiocese of San Luis Potosi,
central Mexico, said the Vatican has been investigating Eduardo
Cordova amid allegations he molested children at various private
schools.
Meanwhile prosecutors have asked the local archbishop to
turn over all files pertaining to complaints and accusations
against the prelate.
Local media say Cordova has long had a potent influence on
local politics as a former member of the city council and an
advisor on human rights.
The case has brought back memories of Mexican priest
Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ
Catholic movement who inflicted decades of sexual abuse on boys
and fathered several children, two of whom he also abused.
Maciel, a close ally to Pope John Paul II, was stripped of
his leadership role and ordered to a life of prayer and
penitence by John Paul's successor Benedict XVI in 2006 and died
two years later in disgrace.
According to Alberto Athié, a former Legionaries of Christ
priest who now advocates against clerical abuse, Cordova abused
"dozens and dozens" of minors by drugging them before molesting
them, and alleged that the local church hierarchy protected him
for over 30 years.
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