Barragan has been working with scores of supporters to prosecute priests - he said that more than 100 were transferred from the United States to Mexico following abuse reports or rumors - who have sexually assaulted Mexican children, and to open the door for United States prosecutions of same.In Mexico there is “no mechanism for democracy or to hold the priest responsible; it’s like kings in their fiefdom, although I think people are getting wiser. Mexico is a religious monarchy, but it has gone from 87 percent Catholic population two years ago to 72 percent. They have lost 15 percent since SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) became so active.”People are joining churches where they have a “voice in what is happening, no rules to hide improprieties. People will have to revolt worldwide... I don’t want that, but this medieval way of conducting business is so outdated it is perpetuating the Catholic church’s own demise.”It has been not only controversial and painful for the church, but also expensive, with the Los Angeles Archdiocese agreeing to an approximately $600 million settlement for abuse victims. Such settlements have become common throughout the nation.Barragan has purchased a home in Mexico City, and has been contacted about broadening his activities into Central and South America. “Am I happy? I’m very happy... and very happy with what is going on, that victims are coming out and providing support to us, adding their voices to ours.” He is sad that “there are so many problems, but it adds strength to the cause.”Although a frequent visitor, Barragan misses Santa Paula and “walking by myself.... In Mexico I have to be protected and followed; I can’t go anywhere by myself, but it’s a small price to pay for the work that has to be accomplished.”Although molested by the trusted family friend and spiritual advisor for five years, starting from the time he was 12 years old, Barragan said he found salvation at the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley. “The club saved my life... I spent every single day there when the abuse started. That’s where I went to protect myself from continuing to be abused.” It was, said Barragan, a “place that I felt safe.”
Eric Barragan’s mission is to expose cover up of priest child abuse in Mexico
December 14, 2007
Santa Paula News
Santa Paula native Eric Barragan has embarked on a mission in Mexico to bring justice to victims sexually abused by Catholic priests, a task that mixes danger and exhilaration.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesSanta Paula native Eric Barragan has embarked on a mission in Mexico to bring justice to victims sexually abused by Catholic priests, a task that mixes danger and exhilaration. Barragan, a former Santa Paula Union High School District trustee, moved to Mexico in June and has been working with social and legal experts and former priests to analyze information he unearthed “to see how we can hold the Vatican accountable” for a conspiracy in existence since 1917.Barragan and his two brothers were for years victims of sexual abuse by a priest who served at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Their abuser, former priest Carlos Rene Rodriguez, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison in March 2004.Barragan moved on: “I’m feeling really empowered and successful with everything going on down here,” and although after Rodriguez’s sentencing Barragan said he left the church, he again is a committed Catholic. “I’m still Catholic, I still believe very strongly in the faith and the religion and that God” has given him the task of finding the truth.“I think that over the years, living behind different masks,” due to the circumstances of his own abuse and the pain it caused, “really prepared me” for his quest to uncover the truth behind the priest scandal in Mexico. And that led to the discovery of what he describes as an “international conspiracy. I just discovered documents that go back to 1917, instructions from the Vatican on how to deal with abusing priests... by transferring them to other churches.”Barragan said he was surprised at how easy it was to obtain such documents - such as confidential newsletters - from archives pertaining to Canon Law. Such newsletters gave advice on how to suppress information about abusing priests, “including destroying documents, protecting the church at all costs... it’s pretty powerful.”And highly unpopular: Barragan has been the focus of numerous death threats, has around the clock government-ordered armed protection, and has experienced suspicious instances of phone failure, including being told that his cell phone number never existed.
