Pedophilia. Cardinal Marx: "Dossier on responsible persons destroyed, Church mission discredited"

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February 23, 2019 "The administration has not contributed to fulfilling the mission of the Church but, on the contrary, has obscured, discredited and made it impossible". Harsh denunciation of Cardinal Reinhard Marx at the summit underway in the Vatican to stem the scourge of pedophilia.

"The sexual abuse of children and young people is not to a slight extent due to the abuse of power within the administration - denounces the archbishop of Munich - Freising on the third day of meetings dedicated to 'transparency' -. A in this regard, the administration has not contributed to fulfilling the mission of the Church but, on the contrary, has obscured it, discredited it and made it impossible ".

"The dossiers - Marx denounced - that could have documented the terrible acts and indicated the name of the perpetrators were destroyed or not even created. Instead of the guilty ones, it was the victims who were filed and kept silent. procedures established to prosecute crimes have been deliberately disregarded, and indeed overruled or canceled. The rights of victims have in fact been trampled on and left to the discretion of individuals. These are all events in clear contradiction with what the Church should represent ".

Marx: "I know no reasons for applying pontifical secret"

"There are no alternatives to traceability and transparency. However, there are objections that must be taken into account. They mainly concern the violation of the pontifical secret, as well as ruining the reputation of innocent priests or of the priesthood and of the Church as a whole through false accusations. , if these are made public - Cardinal Marx continues - These objections to traceability and transparency are not particularly convincing. Any objection based on pontifical secrecy would be relevant only if convincing reasons could be indicated why the pontifical secret should be applied to the prosecution of crimes concerning child abuse. At present, I do not know of these reasons ". 

A victim: "Zero tolerance"

Faced with a "crime" such as that of pedophilia, no secrets are allowed. We need "zero tolerance and maximum transparency. The Church must collaborate with the police and denounce sexual abuse which is not a sin but a real crime". Juan Carlos Cruz, Chilean, who as a child suffered the violence of a priest, is in Rome these days on the occasion of the summit wanted by the Pope at the Vatican to stem the plague of pedophile priests. He, like all the other victims, asks the leaders of the Church gathered today in the Vatican to discuss the 'protection of minors' never to cover up the cases of abuse again and to restore "justice" to the survivors.

"Pedophilia - he observes - is a crime. In front of a crime there can be no secret. We need maximum transparency, a crime cannot have secrecy". Hence the appeal to overcome the "papal secret". Cruz is declared gay. He observes: "Homosexuals are not the devil. Victims of abuse demand respect, justice and reparation for the damage inflicted. Zero tolerance is needed."

Sister at the summit: "We can do a lot to help victims"

Women in the field to support the victims of sexual abuse by priests. Three women also speak at the anti-abuse summit in the Vatican. This morning it was Sister Veronica Openibo, superior general of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus: "I admire you, Brother Francis, for taking the time, as a true Jesuit, to discern and to be humble enough to change your mind, apologize and act : an example for all of us. Thank you, Pope Francis for giving all of us this opportunity to check and verify where we have acted strangely, with ignorance, secrecy and complacency. I think we will change, with great determination, our overall approach to reporting abuse, supporting victims and, above all,to do everything possible to protect minors and vulnerable adults from all forms of abuse ".

"The women - said the nun - have acquired a lot of useful experience that they can make available in this field, and have already done a lot to support the victims and also to work creatively on their use of power and authority. every culture of silence and secrecy among us ". Hence, the proposal of a "joint commission" of lay people and religious in each diocese that "shares the experience on documentary procedures and protocols, the legal and financial implications of complaints and the necessary channels of accountability and accountability".