PHILIPPINES
Aljazeera
by Tiffany Ang’
Sexual abuse allegations against Catholic priests in the Philippines are on the rise, according to senior church investigators.
But this new 101 East documentary reveals that prosecutions of priests alleged to have committed sexual abuse are extremely rare in Asia’s largest Catholic nation.
Some alleged victims say they have been pressured not to file charges and were paid money in exchange for their silence.
Imelda* was 15 years old when she says the priest in her village sexually assaulted her.
“After he kissed me on the forehead, he hugged me,” she recalled. “It was really painful. Why did he do that to me?”
She says that when her family discovered she had reported the incident to the police, they beat her.
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