New report: Over 4,000 children among victims of priest abuse in Italy
Nearly 4,400 people in Italy have been victims of abuse by Catholic priests in cases reported since 2020, Reuters cites new allegations from a victims’ rights group that has renewed pressure on the country’s bishops to address a scandal that continues to shake the Catholic Church.
The figures were compiled by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest association representing survivors of church-related sexual abuse.
The group’s founder, Francesco Zanardi, said the tally was drawn from victims’ testimonies, judicial sources, and media reports. The organisation did not specify how far back the alleged abuse cases date.
The report detailed cases involving 4,625 victims, of whom 4,395 were allegedly abused by priests. Among the survivors, 4,451 were minors at the time of the abuse, and 4,108 were male. The report also identified five nuns, 156 vulnerable adults, and 11 people with disabilities among the victims.
Out of the 1,106 priests accused of abuse, only 76 faced church trials, the report said. Seventeen were temporarily suspended, seven were reassigned to other parishes, and 18 were either defrocked or resigned from the priesthood. Five accused priests took their own lives.
https://caliber.az/en/post/new-report-ov...e-in-italy
Nearly 4,400 people in Italy have been victims of abuse by Catholic priests in cases reported since 2020, Reuters cites new allegations from a victims’ rights group that has renewed pressure on the country’s bishops to address a scandal that continues to shake the Catholic Church.
The figures were compiled by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest association representing survivors of church-related sexual abuse.
The group’s founder, Francesco Zanardi, said the tally was drawn from victims’ testimonies, judicial sources, and media reports. The organisation did not specify how far back the alleged abuse cases date.
The report detailed cases involving 4,625 victims, of whom 4,395 were allegedly abused by priests. Among the survivors, 4,451 were minors at the time of the abuse, and 4,108 were male. The report also identified five nuns, 156 vulnerable adults, and 11 people with disabilities among the victims.
Out of the 1,106 priests accused of abuse, only 76 faced church trials, the report said. Seventeen were temporarily suspended, seven were reassigned to other parishes, and 18 were either defrocked or resigned from the priesthood. Five accused priests took their own lives.
https://caliber.az/en/post/new-report-ov...e-in-italy
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
