04-26-2002

Printable Version

Hosted by veteran news anchor María Elena Salinas, La Violación de la Fe: Catolicismo en Crisis will evaluate the serious allegations that members of the Church’s hierarchy were involved in a massive cover-up of the scandal, failing to report cases of sexual abuse by its priests to the authorities and furthermore transferring the suspected pedophiles to other parishes where they continued to work with children.  María Elena Salinas will interview several of the alleged victims in these cases of sexual misconduct by priests to learn about the devastating emotional and physical damage caused by this abuse.  Additionally, the special will take a look at incidences of abuse by priests in Latin America, where these cases are even more difficult to prosecute because of the strong Catholic traditions and the so-called “culture of silence” regarding sexual issues and the fear of reprisals from the Church for reporting such occurrences.

The special will also include on-assignment/exclusive reporting by Salinas from the Vatican .

La Violación de la Fe: Catolicismo en Crisis will also look at how devout and honorable priests, who make up the majority of Catholic clergy in the U.S., are reacting to the scandal and how they feel it has affected the Church.  Moreover, the special will focus on the number of social programs that are sponsored by the Church and how they benefit the community.  Maria Elena Salinas will further explore how Catholic Church doctrine is now under attack more than ever and speaks to some parishioners who feel that the Church needs to reform itself and review its policies on issues such as the celibacy of priests, allowing women into the priesthood, and accepting homosexuality among its clergy.

More information about the La Violación de la Fe: Catolicismo en Crisis investigative special can be found on the Internet at www.univision.com.  The Network’s web site will provide transcripts of additional interviews, photos, video clips, and, in an effort to know more about what Univision viewers think, several polls asking their opinions about the many issues surrounding the U.S. Roman Catholic Church’s clerical sex abuse crisis.

Information can also be found on the web site about the special’s award-winning host, María Elena Salinas.  With more than twenty years of experience covering major news events, she is one of the nation’s foremost broadcast journalists and co-anchor of the Network’s leading newscast, “Noticiero Univision.”

Noticias Univision Presenta special La Violación de la Fe: Catolicismo en Crisis, Tuesday, April 30th at 10 PM/9 Central.

Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE: UVN) is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States.  Its operations include: Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 97% of U.S. Hispanic households; TeleFutura Network, a new 24-hour general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network reaching 72% of U.S. Hispanic households and counter-programming traditional Spanish-language lineups to draw additional viewers to Spanish-language television; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 46 television stations (21 Univision and 25 TeleFutura); Galavision, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Music Group, which, pending regulatory approval, includes Fonovisa, the leading Latin music label in the U.S. as well as a 50% interest in Mexico music recording and publishing company Disa Records; and Univision Online, the premier Internet company in the U.S. Hispanic market reaching 80% of the nation’s Spanish-speaking online audience at www.univision.com.   Univision Communications is headquartered in Los Angeles with network operations in Miami and television stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.