The priest accused of abusing children in Carlos Paz is still active in the Cathedral of Cordoba

A priest accused of sexually abusing children in Carlos Paz continues to be active within the Cathedral of Córdoba, despite being removed from his parish nearly a year ago. Father Alejandro Nicola, who was separated from the Niño Dios Parish in Villa Carlos Paz in June due to five allegations of child abuse, has been spotted participating in at least two masses at the Cathedral of Córdoba. The Archbishop of Córdoba, Ángel Rossi, acknowledged there is no formal prohibition preventing Nicola from assisting another priest during liturgical services while the criminal case against him remains unresolved. However, his public presence has sparked internal debate within the church. Rossi emphasized that no ecclesiastical rule prohibits Nicola from accompanying another priest during mass until a court convicts him. He admitted that the priest’s visibility had caused some concern within the institution. “He was advised to exercise caution,” Rossi told La Voz, revealing the limitations of internal oversight over a priest formally removed from his original community. This situation takes on added significance when considering the progression of the legal case. The investigation began in May 2025 after the mother of a four-year-old girl who attended a daycare in Carlos Paz filed a complaint. Over subsequent months, other families from the same daycare presented similar allegations, bringing the total number of cases to five. The last incident involved a boy from the morning shift who spontaneously recounted the events to his grandmother. Only recently, after the Public Prosecutor's Office merged the first four cases, did the Archdiocese decide to temporarily remove Nicola from the school environment. At the beginning of June, following the fifth complaint, Rossi ordered his preventive removal and replacement as pastor of Niño Dios with Pablo Nassif. Since then, Nicola’s whereabouts were unknown until it emerged that he was staying temporarily at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Córdoba City. The contrast between the institutional caution and Nicola’s public appearance at the Cathedral clashes directly with the demands of the families who have waited more than a year for a formal indictment. Weeks earlier, dozens of parents and neighbors gathered outside the courts in Carlos Paz alongside the Argentine Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Abuse under the slogan “our children spoke, now justice must act.” One mother described to this media how her son’s process began with unexplained episodes of anxiety until he could identify his alleged aggressors. This context includes the involvement of Senator Luis Juez, a criminal lawyer, who has taken up the role of complainant on behalf of one of the affected families. The case, handled by prosecutor Jorgelina Gómez, has scheduled psychological and psychiatric evaluations of Nicola for July 31 at the Courts of Villa Carlos Paz. These experts will assess his understanding of the investigated facts, evaluate his personality structure, sexual identity, and potential indicators of fabrication or concealment. Nicola, originally from Villa Carlos Paz, holds a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and graduated as a professor in Sacred Sciences and Philosophy. Before assuming his role at Niño Dios, he worked at the Christ the Redeemer Parish in the Jardín neighborhood of Córdoba City. His reappearance at the Cathedral, without any visible canonical sanctions, once again puts pressure on the church leadership to demonstrate tangible actions rather than internal caution regarding a case that the families demand clear responses to.