Accusations against Francis' Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
Three accusers claim that he "covered up" cases of abuse when he was Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, even though the priest in question admitted to the facts. However, two of the complainants are anonymous, which greatly reduces their value.
Ana María Quispe, who was a member of a missionary children's group, told the media that when she was nine years old in Chiclayo she was assaulted by Rev. Ricardo Yesquen, an assistant priest in her parish, who sat her on his lap and began to kiss her.
Years later, she was allegedly abused by the parish priest Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzales, who was close to her family. According to her, Vásquez Gonzales invited her to a mission outside Chiclayo. When the mission ended, he went looking for a house to spend the night, forced them to share the same bed, lay down and embraced her, holding her with his arms and legs.
The matter was reported to the then Bishop of Chiclayo, Monsignor Robert Prevost, who dismissed the case in 2022.
Another complainant, a former catechist, said that Vásquez Gonzales hugged her and touched her under her polo shirt when she was 11 years old on a similar mission in Cueva Blanca.
The third accuser says she was attacked in a chapel when she was 13, where Vásquez Gonzales tried to kiss her.
The accused priest admitted the abuse to Prevost, but was only transferred to another place.
The diocese of Chiclayo said that the investigation had been referred to the Holy See. The accused priest has been ordered to live in his family home and not to exercise his priestly ministry.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has closed the case due to the statute of limitations and lack of evidence.
Picture: Robert Prevost © wikipedia, CC BY-SA, #newsXpqhjotpax