Costa Rica's Catholic Church

The trial of Mauricio Viquez, a former Costa Rica priest will continue after all. There was a concern that the long legal process of...

Latin America has not been immune from allegations of the sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by priests and those within the Catholic Church.

The Episcopal Conference, which groups the Catholic Church’s leaders in Costa Rica, is preparing faithful for a Covid-appropriate Easter Holy Week. 

The Costa Rican parliament recently passed a law promoted by Rodríguez and Venegas to increase the statute of limitations for this type of crime to 25 years.

The reform was prompted by two men who denounced a Catholic priest for having sexually abused them when they served as altar boys as teenagers.

Costa Rica’s congress approved on Tuesday a bill that extends the statute of limitations for the crime of sexual abuse of minors.

The archbishop of San José, José Rafael Quirós, downplayed the fall in the reputation of the Catholic Church after turbulent months.

The priest was arrested at the border post of Paso Canoas, the main border crossing with Panama, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office.

"He is being investigated as a suspect in the alleged crime of sexual abuse against a minor," the statement read.

The Vatican has expelled Costa Rican priest Mauricio Víquez from the clergy, the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San José announced Monday.