Brazil Is Latest Focus In Church Sex Abuse Scandal

AP today reports that the latest focus in the clergy sex abuse scandal is Latin America with charges against three Brazilian priests, including 83-year old Monsignor Luiz Marques Barbosa. Last month, a Brazilian television network broadcast a video of Barbosa in bed with a 19-year old former altar boy. The video was widely distributed on the Internet. Brazil's legislature launched an investigation in which witnesses charged that Barbosa and two other priests in the same archdiocese abused boys as young as 12. A judge requested Barbosa's immediate detention to prevent him fleeing the country. Prosecutors will now decide whether to file charges. Meanwhile the church has suspended all three priests and is conducting its own investigation.