Rafael López Aliaga defends Juan Luis Cipriani after being accused of sexual abuse: "I reiterate my support"

The mayor of Lima, Rafael Lopez Aliagaspoke after the Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani was accused of abusing a minor in 1983. Through his X account (formerly Twitter), the mayor defended the former archbishop of Lima and rejected the complaint published by El País, describing it as “defamation.”

“Letter from Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani to the newspaper El País in relation to the very serious defamation he is suffering. I reiterate my support and gratitude to Cardinal Cipriani, whom I have known perfectly well for many years. It is unfair to accuse a human being and not give them the right to defend themselves,” said Rafael López Aliaga.

On January 7, the mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, awarded Cipriani the medal of order of merit of the Grand Cross degree. The cardinal maintained restrictions after being denounced for abuse and Pope Francis forced him to leave Peru, but when he turned 81 he had no problems returning to the country and being honored, because he retired from all occupation in the Roman curia.

Sources close to the municipality of Lima reported that López Aliaga gave him the distinction for his pastoral, academic and ecclesiastical work since his ordination as a priest in the prelature of Opus Dei.

“Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for this distinction. I thank the councilors and all those who accompany me on this occasion. The mayor’s office is fundamentally a place of meeting, exchange, friendship, progress (…) Let’s learn to understand each other, let’s learn not to hate. May God bless everyone in this new year,” Cipriani responded when he received the order.

Complaint against Juan Luis Cipriani for sexual abuse of a minor

This Saturday the 25th, el País revealed that, in 2019, Cipriani was forced by Pope Francis to leave Perufor a complaint of sexual abuse against a minor dating back to 1983. Although at that time, the minor was between 16 and 17 years old, he is now 58 years old.

According to the media, in 2018, the complainant addressed Pope Francis through Juan Carlos Cruz, a prominent activist in the defense of victims of abuse in Chile. In his letter, the sender made it clear that he was not seeking revenge, but rather that he wanted the Pope to know the truth about Cipriani, who was serving, at that time, as bishop of Lima and cardinal of Peru.

“The only thing I want is for you to know the truth and for you to take it into account when you are going to make decisions about the future of the current bishop of Lima and cardinal of Peru. (…) I just want you to separate from the Church a pastor who “He has done harm and does not deserve all the privileges he has received in these years,” says part of the letter.