VATICAN CITY
Newsweek
By Felicity Capon 7/10/15
The criminal trial of a former papal diplomat on charges of child sexual abuse will get underway tomorrow in Rome, in a case that could set a historic precedent for how the Catholic church handles priests accused of sex abuse.
Polish-born Józef Wesołowski, 66, will face a criminal court of the Holy See, and will be the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to face criminal charges for paedophilia.
Wesołowski, ordained in 1972, later served as a papal diplomat in the late 1990s and 2000s. He was eventually named the nuncio, or ambassador, to the Dominican Republic in 2008. …
Some argue that the new tribunals set up by Pope Francis simply prove that the Vatican is attempting to handle the matter internally. David Clohessy, executive director of the US-based charity Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, says: “Catholic officials across the world especially in Rome continue to be dreadfully secretive and irresponsible when it comes to clergy sex abuse and cover-up cases, and this one is no different. Church officials are doing everything to keep these cases as quiet as possible and as far away from secular authorities as they can.”
“We’re utterly not convinced,” Clohessy continues. “There’s a clear divide; either turn cases over to the independent unbiased professionals in law and enforcement or continue to handle them quietly and internally. That’s what happening here.” Clohessy also believes it is unlikely to emerge who helped Wesołowski conceal his crimes.
However, Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive officer of the UK’s National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), believes the trial marks an important turning point in the Catholic church’s child abuse scandal.
“We think this is a good step forward for the Church facing up to child abuse in its own ranks,” she told Newsweek. “It is the first test of the new laws and guidelines Pope Francis has put in place for abuse of this type, and proof the Church is moving in the right direction. We’ll watch the outcome with great interest.”
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