At eight years old, Ana Lucía Salazar longed to play with dolls and be combed by two pigtails. Almost three decades later, his greatest wish is that retired priest Fernando Martínez stopped living in a house of Legionaries of Christ, in Rome, and stepped on a Mexican jail as punishment for violating her in 1991, when she was a student at the Cumbres Cancún Institute.
“I will not get tired of fighting and shouting that this man must be in prison with all who covered up his abuses, those who silenced, denigrated me and called me dirty for accusing him.
“For me there will be no justice or impunity will cease until the one who broke my life pays for what he did, until he is sentenced by a judge. I demand that child abuse be considered [crimen] against humanity so that there is no way to protect these predators, ”shares the woman with EL UNIVERSAL.
For Ana Lucía, the Report 1941-2019 on the phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors in the congregation of Legionaries of Christ From its foundation to the present it is a mockery for the victims.
You can read: Editorial. Pederasty: the damage does not expire
The document reveals that for 78 years members of that organization committed at least 175 cases against children, of which 60 are attributed to its founder, Martial Maciel, and the rest, to 32 clergymen of the order.
Of the 33 priests reported by the abuses, six died, eight left the priesthood, one left the congregation, while 18 remain in the congregation and the majority “have not been prosecuted for various reasons, such as the legal situation in different countries or prescription periods ”.
For that reason, the conductor and singer demands that the Mexican State modify the laws and that the crime of pedophilia does not prescribe.
When Ana Lucía Salazar was eight years old, she was raped by Fernando Martínez at the Cumbres Cancún Institute. Photo: Courtesy
“The damage does not expire”
For Ana Lucia, on this issue of child abuse There should be no expiration date. “It is disgusting that the legionaries take this report halfway and that they believe they are already clean, that they are not Maciel and that they say the violations are over.
“If there were cases of 28 years ago, we cannot wait for more victims in one or two decades. It is not enough that they take away the religious ministry, nor stop giving Mass is a sufficient punishment for a pederast, of course not, ”he adds.
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Of the abusive priests, six died without being judged civilly, one was convicted, another – already removed from the clerical state – is on trial. The others have not been processed.
Canonically, of the 33, five died without being judged, 15 are sanctioned; six, in the process of being processed; three, in previous investigation, while one received the dispensation of ministry without trial and three were denounced when they had already left the congregation.
Analú, as they say to him of affection, denounced Fernando Martínez in May 2019. Seven months later, on November 22, the Legionaries of Christ accepted that between 1990 and 1993 the priest raped eight minors when he served as director of the Instituto Cumbres Cancún, in Quintana Roo.
“The father admits with sorrow and remorse the abuses against children committed during these years. The congregation deplores and condemns [los casos], as well as those institutional or personal practices that could favor any form of abuse or revictimization ”, indicates the report issued by the organization.
This document also holds the founder of the Legion of Christ, Marcial Maciel, who was superior general of the legionaries until 2005. This, because the investigation revealed that he violated Fernando Martínez in 1954, when he was 15 years old, and later , knowing of the abuses his victim moved him from one place to another.
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For 78 years members of the Legionaries of Christ committed at least 175 abuses against children, reveals a document of the religious congregation. Photo: ARCHIVO EL UNIVERSAL
“Crime was not enough”
Although Fernando Martínez accepted that he raped girls at the Cumbres Institute, this was not enough for him to be apprehended.
The religious order withdrew the public priestly minister and forbade him to have contact with children, hear confessions and participate in community celebrations attended by religious in formation. Nor can he dress as a priest.
“That’s not fair, you can’t wash your hands with that report, you can’t blame only Maciel, he’s already dead. Imagine all the corruption ring there was for that man to rape me.
“The prefect took us out of classes to take us to the chapel or to the address to be attacked. [Fernando Martínez] He earned my trust; I admired him and he raped me, he hurt me, he broke my life. He didn’t care about that eight-year-old girl, he just wanted to satisfy his evil, because he wasn’t sick, but he was an evil person, ”he says.
Ana Lucia hopes that in this ordinary period the senators will promote the best proposal that eliminates the prescription of this crime. He hopes that no political party will want to “hang the medal”, but will act in favor of the victims of child abuse.
“I know there are several initiatives. Josefina Vázquez Mota promoted one, also Martí Batres. What I want is for them to understand that this fight goes beyond the color of the party, we don’t care if it’s Morena or the PAN, but that the rapists don’t live in retirement homes.
“The Church does not have to impose penances, the Judiciary must do so. I am not satisfied, I am not willing and if the Pope goes out to say that he agrees with these punishments, then I will reply that he is an accomplice, ”Analú abounds.
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