:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_da025474c0c44edd99332dddb09cabe8/internal_photos/bs/2022/G/t/ONMFMlSxqxueawOu3AwA/padre-julio-lancelotti.jpg "Archdiocese will investigate Father Julio Lancellotti to seek the ‘truth’")
The Archdiocese of São Paulo will open a new investigation against Father Julio Lancellotti, based on an “alleged new fact of sexual abuse”. According to the institution’s press office, this is a “prior investigation” to find elements for a possible complaint.
In addition to being the target of reports of alleged sexual abuse, the parish priest is in the crosshairs of the CPI of NGOs, proposed by councilor Rubinho Nunes (União Brasil).
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In a statement, the Archdiocese stated that “the recent publication of expert reports with contradictory results and the news of an alleged new incident of sexual abuse involving the aforementioned priest require a new investigation in search of the truth.” According to the text, the entity will continue “investigating the case in the area of its competence, far from ideological and political interests, with serenity and objectivity”.
On his social networks, Father Julio said that he received the news of the investigation with “serenity and peace of mind”. The religious stated that “the imputations that have recently emerged — as well as those that have survived in the past — are completely false, untrue and I have full faith that the investigations conducted by the Archdiocese will clarify the truth of the facts.”
According to him, the accusations aim to disrupt the meaning of his priesthood: “the fight for the helpless and the homeless people.”
In view of the Archdiocese’s new position, councilor Rubinho Nunes will send a formal request for the pastor’s removal to the Archdiocese of São Paulo.
The main motivation for opening the investigation by the Archdiocese is alleged sexual harassment that Lancellotti allegedly committed against a former altar boy in 1987. The man’s report was given to Oeste magazine, with a conservative profile. The other reason is a recent contradiction, exposed by the press, in video investigations of a previous accusation that targeted the parish priest.
The Archdiocese of São Paulo clarified in the note that it did not archive an old complaint of which Father Julio was the target, contrary to what was interpreted from another position released on January 23 by the institution itself.
At the time, the Catholic authority stated that it received a video in 2020 and that, after an investigation led by the Metropolitan Curia of São Paulo, it did not have “sufficient conviction about the materiality of the complaint” against Lacellotti. As a result, he opted to archive it. At the time, the São Paulo Public Ministry had the same understanding.
The same video, analyzed four years ago and which did not prove any crime involving the parish priest, recently circulated again on social media. The complaint was made by the then mayoral candidate Arthur do Val, known as Mamãe Falei, who became involved in politics through the MBL (Movimento Brasil Livre).