Yet another disturbing case involving the Catholic Church harboring a prolific predator is unfolding currently in Argentina. Reverend Nicola Corradi and other priests at the Antonio Próvolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Children in Mendoza province currently face charges of sexual abuse against deaf children. In Verona, Italy and later Mendoza, from 2004-2016, Corradi and fellow priests preyed upon hundreds of deaf children at schools established by the Vatican. Although the allegations of abuse had followed Rev. Corradi for decades in Italy, the Vatican failed to protect children entrusted in his care in Argentina by allowing him to oversee a similar position to the one he had tormented countless children from in Italy since as early as the 1950’s.
A Reminder of Catholic Church’s Cover-Up of Sexual Abuse of Deaf Children in Wisconsin
The Corradi case bears a sad resemblance to the case of American priest, Lawrence Murphy at the St. John School of the Deaf in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Murphy is believed to have molested over 200 boys from 1950-1974 and his horrific crimes were covered up by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee for decades after he was removed from the school. Further investigation in the 2000’s revealed that more than 50 different priests in the Milwaukee area had been alleged to have committed abuse against children. Nearly $30 million has been paid by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to settle the more than 200 cases brought against them.
An Advocate for Deaf Victims of Abuse
The case the Vatican is defending its priests from in Argentina is a reminder of the tragic prevalence of sexual abuse by individuals in institutions of power. Particularly at risk of abuse are the disabled children of the world who rely on schools and churches to provide a semblance of normalcy in their lives. The amount of scandals involving children and the Catholic Church are numerous and have been occurring with such frequency for so long that the public has become almost numb to new allegations of child sex abuse against priests. Attorney Paul Mones and his legal team remain vigilantly aware of these threats to children and are leading the fight to deliver justice to survivors of abuse and hold the Church accountable for their crimes.