Church will not report abuse offenders to police

The head of the Italian bishops’ conference has defended the exemption of bishops from having to report suspected child sex abuse to the police. “The Vatican requires national laws to be respected, and we know that there is no such duty [to report abuse] under Italian law,” Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said at a meeting in Genoa last Saturday.

A day earlier, the conference published guidelines stipulating that clergy are under no obligation to inform authorities about suspected abuse but have a “moral duty” to act to protect the vulnerable and “contribute to the common good”.

Victim support groups responded with anger. The US-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests deplored the “stunning, depressing and irresponsible contradiction between what Vatican officials say and do about abuse”.

The Church has repeatedly been accused by victims of covering up abuse by priests and moving around predator clerics.

Bishops in possession of information on possible abuse cases have been required by the Vatican to report to the authorities since 2010, but only in countries where they are required to do so under national law.

Cardinal Bagnasco said the decision to adopt the Vatican’s policy had been taken in part to protect victims who may not want to press charges. “What is important is to respect the will of the victims and their relatives, who may not want to report the abuse, for personal reasons,” he said.

nOn Thursday last week, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for more than 500 Italian MPs and parliamentary officials in St Peter’s Basilica. Commenting on the day’s readings, he offered a reflection on a ruling class that had “slid from sinfulness into corruption”. “The hearts of these people in time became so hardened that it was impossible to hear the voice of the Lord. It is so very difficult for someone who is corrupt to turn back,” Pope Francis said.