Feminists rally for Argentine nuns who denounced archbishop

Source: Associated Press

Feminists rally for Argentine nuns who denounced archbishop

By NATACHA PISARENKO and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA
May 4, 2022

SALTA, Argentina (AP) — Feminist groups have rallied to the support of 18 cloistered Carmelite nuns who have filed an unusual complaint of gender violence against the local Catholic archbishop.

Dozens of activists gathered Tuesday in the esplanade of the Convent of St. Bernard in Salta, some 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires.

The nuns, members of the Discalced Carmelites order, have filed a complaint with a local court accusing Salta Archbishop Mario Antonio Cargnello, Bishop emeritus Martín de Elizalde and vicar Lucio Ajalla of “physical, psychological and economic violence.”

The archbishop has denied the accusations and the position of the other two is unclear because they have not given statements or officially named attorneys.

Elizalde had been designated by the Vatican to hear the nuns’ complaints, but they complain he had accepted the behavior they denounced.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-religion-caribbean-argentina-b7b0a907649763052df4168c0c742c62


Women protest holding hands as they surround the San Bernardo Convent in Salta, Argentina, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. They women gathered in support of the convent's cloistered nuns who have accused the Archbishop of Salta province Mario Antonio Cargnello and other church officials of gender-based psychological and physical violence. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)