Pedophilia in the French Church: a dynamic already seen that stops denouncing

“Considerable numbers.” These are the words of Pope francesco after the publication of the report requested by the French bishops from an independent commission. The considerable numbers are huge: 216,000 victims of pedophilia by priests or religious in 70 years, which rise to 330 thousand if the lay people who work in ecclesiastical institutions are added.

“I encourage the bishops and religious superiors to continue to make all efforts so that similar tragedies do not happen again. I would like to express to the victims my sadness, my pain for the trauma they have suffered and also mine shame, our shame for the too long inability of the Church to put it at the center of its concern, ”the Pope said.

Everything seems a story already seen. Federico Tulli, journalist and writer, author of Church and pedophilia e Church and Pedophilia, The Italian case published by The Golden Ass he explains: «The dynamic that emerges in general resembles stories we have already read in reports from the United States, Germany, Ireland, Holland. Hunting always happens the same way. The reaction of the ecclesiastical hierarchies until a decade ago was the same all over the world: the bishop assessed the seriousness of the situation and then the transfer came. They had the opportunity to commit the crime and in moving to repeat it. The ratio between the number of victims and priests says so: 1 in 70, 3000 priests for 216 thousand victims. It’s a serial crime. ‘

Only in recent years has the Vatican position on these issues changed. Monitoring, inquiries and judgment were centralized in the Vatican until the early 2000s, but the management of these cases was carried out by the bishops. As the film also tells Spotlight, are the years of hidden things even those that emerge from the French investigation. «The coordinator of this report speaks of silence and the interference of the French Church in the investigations, ”adds Tulli. Centralizing inquiries should avoid this.

For Tulli the system is much more complex. “There are cases of pedophiles who have become priests because contact with children is guaranteed in the environment of the Church. In this sector there are 4-6% of cases of pedophilia (the numbers of the French investigation confirm the percentage ed). You don’t get to 1% in other high-risk professions. Then there is a protection given by the secrecy: a document from the 1960s published in 2001 speaks of a bond of secrecy, under penalty of excommunication for priest and victim. I match the seriality in the lucidity in choosing the environment in which to move and in the search for safety by aiming at children without parents or with the absence of a father. These people take the place of the parent ».

The issue of secrecy was reiterated even after the report was published. The president of the French bishops’ conference, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, said the secrecy of confession in the Catholic religion is stronger than the laws of the state. He said this in response to one of the recommendations made by the commission which invited the ecclesiastical authorities to make it clear to victims and confessors that it is necessary to report to the judicial and administrative authorities.

So far there have been no similar movements or inquiries in Italy and Spain, two strongly Catholic countries. “In Spain there have been interesting signals from the state, for example in the extension of the statute of limitations for these crimes. In Italy, no “, adds the journalist,” I have been told several times that he does not serve as an authority and spokesperson for the Vatican, but by doing research they have been found many cases from 1870 to 2014 there are always cases, but there are, we can limit ourselves to describing the facts in the news in these cases. Raising public awareness is essential. This creates scorched earth around pedophiles. The range of action of characters who rely on indifference is restricted ».