Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The News Out of Arecibo

News flash—things are getting seriously weird in the Diocese of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
It all started last year, when a parishioner came forward and said there was some funny business of a sexual nature in the San Martín de Porres. The priest, José Colón Otero, fought the charges nail and teeth, as we say down here, and appeared under the hot Puerto Rican sun in front of his church. What happened a few days later? Somebody vandalized his church.
What happened next? Well, here’s the word from the New Day:
Tras una pesquisa que duró cerca de tres años, El Vaticano emitió un decreto en el que expulsa del sacerdocio al cura de la Diócesis de Arecibo José Colón Otero, eje de denuncias de índole sexual y violaciones al sigilo sacramental que sacudieron la Diócesis de Arecibo y a la parroquia San Martín de Porres.
Con esto, Colón Otero se convirtió en el sexto sacerdote de la Diócesis de Arecibo en ser expulsado por El Vaticano desde el 2011.
(“After an investigation that lasted almost three years, the Vatican issued a decree in which it expelled the priest of the Diocese of Arecibo José Colón Otero, the source of accusations of sexual misconduct and violations of the sacraments which shook the Diocese of Arecibo and the parish of San Martín de Porres.
With this, Colón Otero became the sixth priest in the Diocese of Arecibo to be expelled by the Vatican since 2011.”)
Um—six priests in three years?
Well, Colón Otero isn’t taking it lying down—he has several months to appeal, and he says the Vatican cleared him of the charges of sexual misconduct. Instead, all he did was violate the confidentiality of the confessional. No big deal!
Right, so the island was absorbing all of that yesterday, and woke up to the news that the Vatican is now investigating the bishop of Arecibo, Daniel Fernández Torres, on charges of…the usual. Here is the florid response of the bishop:
Jamás imaginé que las cosas pudieran llegar hasta el punto de la calumnia y de la vil mentira, pero sé que si al mismo Jesucristo lo crucificaron y lo humillaron por ser Él mismo la Verdad, el escarnio es parte de los seguidores de Cristo”, detalló en declaraciones escritas.
(“Never in my life did I imagine that things might arrive to the point of calumny and vile lies like this, but  I know that if even Jesus Christ they crucified and humiliated for being the very Truth, the ridicule is part of the followers of Christ, detailed the bishop in written declarations.”)
So the island scratched its head and thought about that for awhile, and then the news hit at lunchtime: the bishop of a neighboring town, Rubén González of Caguas, has been asked to... well, let him explain:
“En un caso como este, a mí se me ha pedido un servicio... El servicio implica que yo dialogue con unas personas y que hable con unas personas, que dé mi parecer. Pero eso no es hacer una investigación. Estoy en búsqueda de la verdad”, manifestó.
El obispo de Caguas fue cuidadoso en hablar sobre la tarea encomendada por el Vaticano. Se limitaba a exponer que su función es solo “dar un servicio” y no “juzgar el hecho”.
(“In a case such as this, from me they have requested a service… The service implies that I dialogue with various people and talk to various people; that I offer my opinion. But this is not the same as conducting an investigation. I’m only seeking the truth,” he maintained.
The bishop of Caguas was cautious in speaking of the task asked by the Vatican. He limited himself to saying that his function was only to ‘give a service’ and not ‘judge the fact.’”)
Um—we got the bishop of Caguas walking around talking to people and trying to figure out what went down, and that’s not an investigation?
Boys?
Oh, and by the way, where’s the archbishop, who is the highest church official on the island. Isn’t he the bishops’ supervisor, or did they change the hierarchy without letting me know? But no, he too is being a model of discretion:
Ante esta denuncia contra el obispo de Arecibo, el arzobispo de San Juan, Roberto González Nieves, prefirió guardar silencio.
“Desconozco si hay algo oficial”, fue lo primero que señaló el líder de la iglesia católica en la Isla.
Luego, expresó que “de momento, yo prefiero no opinar sobre ese tema”.
(Forget the translation—González denies knowing if there’s anything official and prefers not to comment. Raise your hands, Readers, if you believe that!)
In the movie The Queen, the Tony Blair character says about the Royal Family, “somebody has got to save these people from themselves….”
Exactly!

No comments:

Post a Comment