Momento 24
November 5, 2010
http://momento24.com/en/2010/05/25/the-italian-clergy-and-the-controversial-statements/comment-page-1/
 |
A total of 100 Italian priests have been subjected in the past 10 years to canonical processes, accused of commiting sexual abuse to minors. It has been recognized on Tuesday by the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), through its general secretary, Mariano Crociata.
Crociata however did not disclose how many of those priests have also been tried by civilian courts. “The Italian legislation does not include the obligation to report,” claimed about the ‘number two’ of the CIS, making it clear that despite calls by Benedict XVI about this issue, the Italian bishops are not constrained to surrender to the authorities the priests suspected of abusing minors.
“Obviously this does not preclude our collaboration and cooperation to make possible the establishment of facts, encouraging complaints to those who have suffered any abuse or those who know something” highlighted Crociata.
His words are particularly important in light of the case of Roger Conti, an Italian priest accused of sexually abusing seven children and is now being tried by civilian courts.
The bishop of his diocese was called to testify last week in the process (becoming the first Italian bishop to give evidence in a trial against a pedophile priest) and said that in 2006, two years before the arrest of Conti, he had already heard rumors about possible child abuse, but did not consider it sufficiently credible to remove him from office or inform the Vatican.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.