Priest Serving Child Molestation Sentence in Lebanon Monastery

By Payane Abu Jaoude, Jana El Hassan, Niamh Fleming-Farrell
Daily Star
October 10, 2013

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A Lebanese priest convicted of child molestation by the Vatican is currently carrying out his sentence of solitary penitence in a monastery in Lebanon, sources close to him confirmed to The Daily Star Wednesday.

But the case of Mansour Labaki, who remains at liberty despite his conviction, raises questions about how the church under new leadership has resolved to combat child abuse perpetrated by members of the clergy.

An expert on the Vatican legal system said the priest was unlikely to come under investigation from Lebanese authorities, despite recent statements from Pope Francis vowing to take allegations of abuse more seriously than the church has in the past.

“Nobody wants to cross the Holy See,” said Marco Ventura, professor of Canon law and religion at the University of Leuven in Belgium.