“Once the civil justice system has ruled, all that remains is to accept the judicial truth, without further consideration.” This is the closest thing to an apology that can be read in the letter that the prelate of Opus Dei, Fernando Ocáriz, has sent to Juan Cuatrecasas, the father of the victim of the ‘Gaztelueta case’. What they call “civil justice” refers to the criminal sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court.
The victim of sexual abuse at Opus Dei’s Gaztelueta school speaks: “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more cases. You don’t have to be afraid to tell about it”
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The response comes after the letter sent by Juan Cuatrecases both to Ocáriz and to the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Luis Ladariain which he demanded that his son’s good name be restored after exhausting the judicial process for sexual abuse that condemned the teacher at the Gaztelueta de la Obra school.
A letter, dated May 2, and which has only now been received by Cuatrecasas (the Opus Dei version speaks of a problem in the Post Office) via email. In it, the prelate of Opus Dei acknowledges receipt of the letter of March 29, and while he regrets “the judicialization and media coverage of a case as complex as this one”, he offers his “closeness” to Cuatrecasas and the family of the. The letter comes to light days after the entry into force of the Motu Proprio of the Pope in which he degrades Opus Dei.
“Once the Supreme Court of Spain has ruled and the criminal judicial process has been exhausted, we must all abide by the sentence,” admits Ocáriz, pointing out that “both the Gaztelueta school and a representative of the Holy See (the prefect Ladaria ), they drew conclusions that do not correspond to those of civil justice.”
In fact, Ladaria demanded all instances to “restore the good name” of the professor “falsely accused” that, today, the judicial process exhausted, he is sentenced to two years in prison for pederast, without the still prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith having apologized.
“In any case, once civil justice – which is what should prevail in society – has ruled, all that remains is to accept the judicial truth, without further consideration,” underlines Ocáriz, in an expression measured to the extreme.
Why hasn’t Opus made an official statement afterwards? The response of the prelate of Opus Dei is shocking, since he comes to question the judicial process that led to the conviction of tenured professor José María Martínez Sanz: “If the Prelature has not made public statements about the sentence on a lay professor, it has been precisely out of a desire to respect judicial truth, without revealing the aforementioned contradictory conclusions with civil justice, or the same considerations of the Supreme Court of Spain, which reveal procedural defects in the judgment on the case, although they do not reach to cancel it.”
“The decision to avoid other public pronouncements has been precisely the way to show respect towards your son Juan, and I apologize if it could have been interpreted in another way. I reiterate once again what was stated above: we must all abide by the sentence.” But do not apologize to the victim.
What Ocáriz does grant in response to Cuatrecasas’ request is with regard to the blog opened by the Gaztelueta school, used to discredit the family. “I have invited the school authorities to close the blog that they have used over the years to respond to the demands for information on the case, once the civil justice system has ruled. I do it as an invitation, in respect of the autonomy of the direction and management of the school, but with the wish that it be so”. As elDiario.es has learned, the blog has already been deleted.
After recalling the guidelines of Opus Dei on the protection of minors, which seek to “avoid any risk of exploitation, sexual abuse or mistreatment in the activities carried out in the centers of the Prelature, and which we hope will also inspire all the activities that take place in institutions that receive some kind of pastoral support from Opus Dei”.
“Hopefully these types of instruments, and associations like the one you promote, serve to effectively eradicate and combat this type of abuse, which leaves deep and sometimes insurmountable wounds,” concludes the prelate of Opus Dei, who bids farewell assuring his “appreciation ” and wishing “the best for you and your whole family, and especially for your son Juan”.
This is the letter from Fernando Ocáriz to Juan Cuatrecasas:
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