Golgotha: Abuses Soil the Name of the Church
By Giacomo Galeazzi
The Overwhelming journey in the paedophilia scandal that has swept over many communities This book presents on one side the emblematic testimony of the abuse suffered by Fabio and on the other Fr. Sergio, a priest who dreams of love and writes raving messages to people he does not know, his anxiety, his life trapped in the Church, his own personal Calvary of loneliness. The story digs deep into the hearts and souls of both men, without judging, but bearing witness. It is is an example of two human tragedies, but it is important not to forget who the victim was and who the monster was. This tale is but one tile of the mosaic. In the United States, the number of reported cases of paedophilia in the Church has reached 4500 and so far 2.6 billion dollars have been paid out in compensation; in Brazil, 1700 priests have been accused of abuse; in Ireland 1000 priests have been called to answer allegations of 30,000 cases of abuse; in Australia 110 priests have been condemned and in Italy, 80 cases and 300 victims have been officially reported, but there are certainly many more cases that have not been brought to light. The Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) has never released any official figures. The list of Churches overwhelmed by the scandal of paedophilia stretches across all five continents. Recently, William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly called the Holy Office, declared: "In the last decade over four thousand cases of sexual abuses perpetrated by clerics against minors have been brought to the attention of the Congregation." This is a "dramatic increase". The number of cases that actually went to trial is much smaller. And when finally one begins to acknowledge the scale of the problem, one still struggles to understand and recognize its nature and causes. "Golgota, viaggio segreto tra Chiesa e pedofilia" ("Golgotha, secret journey into the Church and paedophilia", Piemme publications) by Carmelo Abbate is far from being just a catalogue of numbers. It is a tapestry made of meetings stretching from Rome to New York, from Paris to Africa, a tapestry of disturbing confessions, testimonies and extraordinary revelations. In a thorough investigation as an undercover reporter the author revealed important documents. The book represents an extraordinary exploration of a reality that no one, starting from Church leaders, can now pretend to be ignorant about. This manuscript overturns many clichés, from the attitude of the ecclesiastical hierarchies towards paedophilia to the different approach to the problem adopted by Ratzinger compared to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. The book is dedicated, not ironically, to Benedict XVI, wrongly believed by many to be ultra-conservative. This is not the case. In the Abbate's reconstruction of events, the current pope appears as a real reformer, bravely trying to react, make amends and contain the phenomenon of paedophilia in the Church. Fr. Sergio is a priest, he is over 50 years old and Sergio is not his real name. Abbate cannot reveal his nationality or the diocese he belongs to. Fr. Sergio has committed crimes: in the past, according to his own statement, he has had sex with young boys under the age of sixteen. He is convinced he is just homosexual and that he is sick. He thinks that homosexuality is in itself a disease. But he has no awareness of the fact that having sex with minors is a crime that is punishable by law. All the bishops who have dealt with him, including the current one, are fully aware of his situation and the events he was at the centre of. However none of them ever thought of reporting him to the police. Of course the cardinals who had him in their dioceses kept very close to him, from a Christian and human point of view. They cared for him and even committed him to one of the centres run by the Congregation of Jesus the Priest who are specialized in the treatment of priests with severe sexual problems. Fr. Sergio remained in the centre for two years. He was then released. He was once again exposed to contact with people, followers and started to celebrate mass again. He says he has not had any more sexual relations with young people. However, Abbate writes "during one of our meetings he talked about fantasies involving an eleven year old altar boy." Patrick Wall is a former Benedictine monk, an expert of theology and canon law, who for decades has worked as a consultant in cases of sexual abuse at the hands of clerics. Together with Richard Sipe and Thomas Doyle, he is one of the top experts in the world in this field and has co-written a book that is widely considered a cornerstone on the subject entitled "Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes". Since 2002, after 12 years of experience in the ecclesiastical world, Wall has been working in a law firm. From the beginning of his "lay" career, he became an expert consultant in cases of child abuse at the hands of priests and members of the Church. Law firms all across the world (including Rome) call him for help. Patrick explained that there is a different way of thinking within the Catholic Church compared to the outside world. For the Church, the institution comes before everything else. The culprit always confesses his actions to someone, often to someone above him, this way subconsciously he feels less responsible. It's the exact opposite of what a victim tends to do, which is to shroud him/herself in silence and to feel guilty despite being innocent. The guilty priests on the other hand are convinced that, if their actions really were evil and wrong, their superiors would not let them carry on. This is why they feel safe and remorseless. Those responsible of abuses, when they get a chance to have their say, are never ashamed to talk in detail about their actions, because they are convinced of being innocent.
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