Pope condemns cover-up of abuse in church

According to Pope Francis, it is important to “pursue the search for truth and the restoration of justice within the ecclesial community even in those cases in which certain behaviors are not considered crimes by state law but are considered crimes by canonical norms.”

The Italian Bishops’ Conference CEI presented this week its annual report on national measures to protect against abuse. Accordingly, 54 suspected cases of sexual abuse were reported last year, and the majority of those affected (44) were female.

Almost half of those affected (25) were between 15 and 18 years old at the time of the crime. The number of suspected perpetrators is 32, 31 of whom are men. Priests, religious and lay people are each accused of the crimes by a third. Just over half of the suspected cases (56.8 percent) happened in the past. Overall, 90.6 percent were real attacks and 9.4 percent took place over the Internet.

The figures refer to reports to the Church’s 108 so-called “listening centers” in Italy. These facilities serve as contact and information points for those affected and for questions about sexual abuse. The survey follows an initial study from 2022. It was the first analysis of national prevention measures in 2020 and 2021.

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