Clerical abuse scandal hits Argentine president’s school

In this July 4, 2017 photo, Rufino Varela shows a portrait of himself on his cell phone when he was 9-years-old, during his first communion ceremony in 1974 at the Cardenal Newman school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After nearly four decades, Varela broke his silence about sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Rev. Finnlugh Mac Conastair at the school when he was 12 years old, which has led several other former students to denounce clerical abuse at a school that has educated President Mauricio Macri and many other members of Argentina's elite. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) In this July 4, 2017 photo, Rufino Varela shows a portrait of himself on his cell phone when he was 9-years-old, during his first communion ceremony in 1974 at the Cardenal Newman school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After nearly four decades, Varela broke his silence about sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Rev. Finnlugh Mac Conastair at the school when he was 12 years old, which has led several other former students to denounce clerical abuse at a school that has educated President Mauricio Macri and many other members of Argentina's elite. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

By Associated Press August 14, 2017 9 min read

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – Rufino Varela was a distraught, confused 12-year-old when he went looking for help from the school chaplain to tell him he’d been sexually abused by a mason at his family’s home.

Instead of aiding, Varela says, the Rev. Finnlugh Mac Conastair took off the boy’s pants, flogged him and fondled him in a room below the chapel at one of Argentina’s most prestigious schools. Then, the Irish priest known by many as “Father Alfredo,” offered him candy and told him that they should keep it as a secret with God.

“I had come looking for help, but I felt that it was a punishment from God,” Varela said. “I came back to the classroom, holding back tears, went home and never spoke about it.”

The secret was kept for nearly four decades. But in recent months, Varela’s decision to break his silence has led several other former students to denounce clerical abuse at a school that has educated President Mauricio Macri and many other members of Argentina’s elite.

The case is one of several that have shown the church has not been spared sexual scandals even in the home territory of Pope Francis, who has pledged a zero-tolerance policy against abuses that have rocked the church around the world.