In Italy, the fight against sexual abuse in the Church still has a long way to go

Even if Pope Francis expressed his “immense sorrow” on Tuesday at the “appalling reality” unveiled by the Sauvé commission on sexual violence within the Church of France, silence still reigns in Italy.

REUTERS - VATICAN MEDIA

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

While structures have been put in place to listen to victims, the issue of sex crimes is still largely taboo in Italy and it is very difficult to promote awareness of a cultural revolution.

Work like that of the Independent Commission on Abuse in the Church (Ciase) does not yet appear for tomorrow.

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With our correspondent in Rome, 

Éric Sénanque  

Francesco Zanardi, abused by a priest during his childhood, chairs the Abuse network, the main association of victims of pedophile priests in the Italian peninsula.

He has carefully read the conclusions of the

Sauvé Commission,

but according to him there is still a long way to go to move the lines.

"

We are still waiting in Italy for a commission to investigate the Church," he

regrets. 

Italy is truly one of the countries that are the furthest behind when it comes to taking action, but probably it's because we have the Vatican at home!

For years, Francesco has deplored the lack of will of the Italian Catholic Church to deal effectively with the tragedy of pedophile crimes. 

"

We do not start on the same basis 

”

For Church historian Massimo Faggioli, facing the painful issue of sex scandals in the Church as France has done is far from certain, because Italian society is not yet ready. “

It is difficult to imagine a commission like the Sauvé commission in Italy. We do not start on the same basis. The first example is the lack of courage of the media to carry out substantive investigations, the second is also a lack of daring of politics, justice and the police who in Italy have always been reluctant to deal with the cases of abuse, 

”he explains. 

The Italian Church does not, however, remain inactive.

A national network with listening cells has been set up in many dioceses, and two years ago the episcopal conference even published "guidelines" to combat the scourge of sexual abuse.

But we are still far from having a commission here as in France, outside the ecclesial world, capable of bringing to light decades of abuse and suffering. 

► Also listen: Sexual abuse: "The Church must take legal and moral responsibility"

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