Priest in Cordoba, Argentina, Convicted of Sexual Abuse, Sentenced to Three Years and Four Months of Home Imprisonment

The Schoenstatt movement in Argentina expressed “deep pain” after the arrest of Fr. Patricio Cruz Viale, a priest accused of sexual abuse. According to a report from ewtnnews.com in November 2024, the arrest took place on a Saturday in the province of Córdoba, following an order from Prosecutor for Crimes against Sexual Integrity Juan Ávila Echenique. The complaint, made earlier that year by an adult woman, accused the priest of abusive sexual abuse qualified as having been committed by a minister of worship, according to La Nación. Provincial Superior Fr. Pablo Javier Pol issued a statement that said the complaint had been filed in both the ordinary criminal justice system and the canonical sphere. The statement expressed sincere support and empathy for the complainant, whom it described as an elderly woman.

According to infobae.com, the investigation began in early 2024, after a woman came forward with allegations of abuse at the priest’s personal office in the northwest area of Córdoba. Cruz Viale was arrested on 9 November 2024 and held at Bouwer prison until 15 January 2025, when he was granted home imprisonment. Infobae described him as a priest affiliated with the Schoenstatt movement.

In July 2026, a cousin of the accused made allegations that she had been abused at the age of seven by the defendant, who was then sixteen. Infobae’s coverage of this new public complaint reported that the case had legally prescribed. The allegations in this matter have not been tried, and they are separate from the case that led to the conviction.

On 19 August 2026, the 4th Chamber of the Crime of Córdoba convicted Cruz Viale of sexual abuse and sentenced him to three years and four months of home imprisonment, according to infobae.com. The court did not apply the most aggravated classification proposed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The court determined that the case involved simple abuse with the aggravating factor of having been committed by a religious minister, and that it did not meet the criteria of article 119 of the Penal Code. This differs from the charge described in the November 2024 report, which referred to abusive sexual abuse. The reports do not describe any appeal or further ruling.

Protection of the vulnerable is at the center of this case, as the court’s decision and the complaints from both the adult complainant and the cousin show. The lawyer for the complainant, Benjamin Sonzini Astudillo, said he was dissatisfied because the minimum penalty had been sought (Proverbs 31:8-9).