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Sex Abuse

Accused child sex abuser Father Jan Van Dael plays with the hair of a boy collecting a soup donation, in a slum outside Caucaia, Brazil.

South America has become a safe haven for the Catholic Church’s alleged child molesters. The Vatican has no comment.

Belief

The Catholic Church has long been under fire for covering up priests’ sexual abuse of children, and for transferring perpetrators among parishes rather than turning them over to law enforcement. Now, GlobalPost investigates a new, international side to the scandal: The church has allowed priests facing credible sex abuse allegations in the United States and Europe to get a new start by relocating to poor parishes in South America.