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Four former seminarians accuse Dom Alberto Taveira Corrêa, Archbishop of Belém (PA), of using his power to make sexual advances that are not allowed during private meetings. The alleged sexual abuse is the subject of an investigation opened by the Civil Police at the request of the MP-PA (Public Ministry of Pará) and is also being investigated by the Vatican.
According to complaints from the alleged victims to the TV Globo program “Fantástico”, a Dom Alberto’s house is the place where they spent their worst days. The archbishop used to invite seminarians to visit him, and the young people, impressed, felt privileged by the opportunity. But it was there that the abuses would have occurred.
“He told me: ‘I want to talk to you that day, at home,’ recalls a former seminarian.” It seemed unattainable. ‘Wow! They called me to go to the archbishop’s house. You feel important in that moment, ”says another.
At the request of the victims, who fear reprisals, their names and faces were preserved by the report. Like the “fantastic”, the Twitter He will use letters, which have nothing to do with the initials of each one, to identify the former seminarians.
The stories of the four young people are very similar: they were between 15 and 18 years old when they would have suffered abuse – moral and sexual – between 2010 and 2014. Part of these charges had already been published by the newspaper El País in December.
“Z” says he met the archbishop in 2011, when he was 15 years old and an altar boy. After a first conversation, Dom Alberto sent “Z” to the smaller seminary, for beginners, where he would also go to high school. From there, according to the victim, they began to meet at the archbishop’s house.
“It was always about sexuality,” says “Z” of the encounters in Dom Alberto’s bedroom. “The first point he always mentioned was masturbation. It was about touching, if he felt desire, who he felt desire for.”
The former seminarians say they also met with the archbishop in the chapel, where the conversation about religious vocation used to be, and in the living room, where the topic focused on family and studies.
When he touched me, in my private part, he said it was normal, man. But, like this, I didn’t see malice, because I was very confident, because he was an authority, I didn’t have experience either. But that was becoming permanent and more aggressive. He was already welcoming me at the door and was already answering. “Z”, on abuse of Dom Alberto
Moral abuse
With “S”, the abuses would have started as soon as the former seminarian met Dom Alberto, in 2010, at the Metropolitan Curia, where the archbishop’s office was located. In addition to sexual harassment, he reports having been a victim of bullying.
“When I started saying I wanted to quit the seminar for this, this and this, I started crying. His mood changed suddenly. He hit the table, he cursed me for ‘fagot, said crying was a ‘fagot, that it had to be a man, that it had to be strong. And all those screams, like that, that even scared me, “he told the report.
That same day, he recalled, Dom Alberto hugged him and touched his genitals, in addition to kissing him near the mouth. “He said he liked it very much, that he wanted to see me ordained a priest,” he added.
Another situation that was repeated, according to the young people, were the conversations about a supposed cure for homosexuality. Former seminarians report that the archbishop gave them a book outlining the procedures for what he called “treatment.”
“You read the book and you say like this, being homosexual is a disease, that we need to be treated and helped,” said “V”.
Investigation and defense
Former seminarians went to the Civil Police and the MP-PA in August of last year. In a note to “Fantastic”, the MP said that he received the complaints and forwarded them to the Police, who confirm that they have initiated an investigation to investigate the case. Since the process is confidential, no one was able to give interviews.
The “Fantastic” report had access to information indicating that a bishop representing the Holy See, in the Vatican, was in Belém to investigate the accusations against Dom Alberto. It was reported that he spoke with former seminarians and priests who followed the case, as well as the archbishop himself.
Dom Alberto even posted a video to defend himself against what he calls “false accusations of immorality,” but did not mention the content of the complaints.
I tell you that a few days ago I received with sadness information about the existence of investigation procedures with serious accusations against me, without having previously been questioned, heard, or had the opportunity to clarify these alleged facts set out in the accusations. Dom Alberto, on the abuse charges
To “Fantástico”, the archbishop’s lawyer, Roberto Lauria, told him that he has not yet been heard by the police or the MP, but “he is available.”
“Obviously, the first thing that is said is the refusal and the repudiation of this complaint,” he said. “We will show at the end of this investigation that, Contrary to popular belief, whistleblowers are not four isolated people. They are a group of people who have a deep repression, a deep sense of revenge for Dom Alberto “.
