In October 2012, a hearing was held with "Anna", before three of the church's men. The purpose was to investigate "Anna's" account of sexual abuse she must have been subjected to by the monk ten years earlier. The person leading the hearing is the closest superior of the accused monk, who lives near the designated one.

- She ends up in a disadvantage without any hesitation. She has the entire church, that order in any case, establishment against her, says Sven-Erik Alhem.

"Parallel legal system of the Church"

He also points out that the woman had to wait for just over five months after the first contact with Bishop Anders Arborelius, before the investigation began.

"This is a sign that you might prefer to have it down already," says Alhem.

Both he and the lawyer and former prosecutor Johanna Björkman describe the church's investigation as substandard. Björkman is concerned about what she calls the Catholic Church's parallel legal system.

- It is actually the police who have a monopoly on doing this. And there are no clues anywhere in this document that this woman is actually advised to report the police or similar.

"The police matter to decide"

Although any crimes at that time were prescribed, she believes it is the police's decision to decide - not the church's. She is also critical of how the woman is being interviewed.

- She expresses something we often see in crime victims. The uncertainty as to whether one has been subjected to a crime at all, says Johanna Björkman, and believes that the uncertainty in this case is reinforced by those asking the questions.

Sven-Erik Alhem believes that the Catholic Church should have hired some impartial person with legal expertise to lead the investigation, rather than the monk's closest superior.

According to Alhem, the woman should also have been offered to have a legal representative present.

"The Church wants to protect itself"

The inquiry was then sent to the highest order in Rome, which half a year later demanded that the monk go into therapy and not be allowed to be alone with children and young people. In addition, the management ordered that the charges be kept secret to protect the woman from rumor spread, shows documentation that SVT has taken part in.

"In fact, it is the Catholic Church that you want to protect, of course," says Sven-Erik Alhem.

Church: "A complement to the justice system"

SVT has unsuccessfully sought the responsible leadership in Rome. The Catholic Church writes in a comment that the diocese referred the woman to the words belonging to the monk who should lead the investigation under canon law.

Canonical law is not a parallel legal system but a complement, writes the Catholic Church in Sweden in a comment to SVT.

For example, if police and prosecutors consider that a civil crime cannot be proven and file a preliminary investigation, a church-law investigation is nevertheless made where the consequence - if the person is found guilty - can be disciplinary measures that a priest may not continue working in the church.

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