Cipriani has ‘every right’ to assert innocence, say Peruvian bishops

The Peruvian bishops expressed regret for ‘the pain suffered by the victim of the abuse’, but the cardinal said he had not been allowed to defend himself.

The Peruvian bishops’ conference said Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne had “every right” to “assert” his innocence over accusations of abuse.

In January, the Spanish daily El País reported a claim that Cipriani had abused a teenager at an Opus Dei centre in Peru in 1983, when he was a priest. 

The victim alleged Cipriani had touched him inappropriately during 45-minute long periods of confession. He wrote to Pope Francis after watching a film about the abuse crisis in the Chilean Church.

Cipriani served as Archbishop of Lima from 1999 to 2019, and was the first member of Opus Dei to be made a cardinal.  He resigned upon reaching his seventy-fifth birthday.

The Pope accepted his resignation and imposed disciplinary measures on Cipriani: he was ordered to leave Peru, never to wear the insignia of a cardinal or issue public statements.

In January, the 81-year-old prelate returned to Lima to receive a medal from the mayor, a member of Opus Dei. Cipriani claimed that Pope Francis had eased the disciplinary measures, allowing him to resume his priestly ministry after a meeting in 2020.

The Vatican contradicted Cipriani, stating that while “specific permissions” had been granted to him “on certain occasions”, the sanction or “precept” was still in force.

In a statement titled, “The truth will set you free”, the Peruvian bishops expressed regret for “the pain suffered by the victim of the abuse”.

Cipriani wrote to the bishops’ conference demanding a clarification. He described the allegations as “false”, stating had been neither “judgement”, “proof” nor “any witnesses”, adding: “I have not been allowed to defend myself.”

In a statement published on 7 April, the conference said: “Although Cardinal Cipriani has every right to assert his innocence since culpability is proven in a penal trial, it is nevertheless true that a penal precept exists.”  

The statement said that because of this, “he should not forget the Holy Father’s exquisite pastoral charity” towards him.

Peruvian cardinal rejects abuse allegations but Vatican confirms sanctions

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