Italy bishop cites 100 abuse cases in 10 years

May 26, 2010|Associated Press

ROME — Italy’s bishops’ conference provided the first-ever statistics on clerical sex abuse in the country yesterday, saying there had been about 100 cases over the past 10 years that warranted church trials or other canonical procedures.

Monsignor Mariano Crociata, the number-two official in the Italian bishops’ conference, gave the estimate during a press conference, the ANSA and Apcom news agencies reported.

He declined to say how many of the cases resulted in condemnation or dismissal of the priest, or how many were reported to police. While saying the church officials cooperated with police, he insisted that Italian law doesn’t require bishops to report suspected abuse.

Some lawyers for victims say bishops are required to report abuse since they are public officials. Vatican norms say bishops should follow civil laws in reporting abuse.

Crociata’s comments came a day after the head of the bishops’ conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, opened the annual meeting by asking families to trust the Catholic Church despite the scandal.

The meeting came as more cases are coming to light: Yesterday, the ANSA news agency reported that a 73-year-old priest well known in Milan’s gay community had been arrested on charges he had sex with a 13-year-old boy. A day earlier, a priest in Savona went on trial for alleged sexual violence against a 12-year-old girl, ANSA said.

And last week, a Rome bishop testified in the case of another accused priest that he knew about rumors of abuse two years before the priest was arrested yet didn’t alert police or the Vatican or proceed with any canonical trial against him.