Vatican declared innocent two clerics accused of sexual abuse of young people | They are the priest Gabriele Martelli and the former rector of the Saint Pius X preseminar, Enrico Radice

From Rome

The Vatican Court of Justice acquitted this wednesday for two religious accused of sexual abuse in the Preseminario San Pio X -located in Vatican territory-, the priest Gabriele Martelli 29 years old and former rector of this institution, Enrico Radice 72 years old. It is the first instance of Vatican justice and those who accuse them can appeal. The judgment of the Vatican Court, released by the Vatican Press Office, established that Martinelli is not punishable with regard to the events which allegedly occurred up to August 9, 2008, because he had less than 16 years old, and that on the charges referring later years in 2008, he was acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence. The accusation of “corruption of minors” cannot be penalized by statute of limitations. In Radice’s case, the judgment also found that the charges against him have expired or do not stand.

El Promotor de Justicia del Vaticano -equivalente aproximadamente al fiscal en la justicia común, – había pedido para Martinelli -supuestamente el violador- una condena a seis años de cárcel y cuatro años de cárcel para Radice, quien supuestamente lo habría del cubierto siendo high school.

The decision of the Vatican Court, which for the first time in history proceeded to a trial for sexual abuse that occurred there, caused surprise in environments awaiting convictions because during the trial he There had been huge statements from several of the alleged abusers or from those who witnessed the facts. They were first and foremost students of the Preseminario, an institution attended by young people from secondary schools around the world and where they were helped to decide whether or not to consecrate themselves to the priesthood. While in the pre-seminary, the youth serve as altar boys in St. Peter’s Basilica celebrations. This is why the Preseminar is also known as “The Pope’s Choir School.”

The last of the 13 hearings in this trial was held in July, after which the President of the Court, the juez Giuseppe Pignatone, stressed that “all the contributions to this trial have been very important and we are now in a position to decide”.

During the last hearings, the two defenders of the accused, the lawyers Rita Baffioni and Emmanuela Bellardini, summarized the arguments which, according to them, made the statements of the alleged abusers not credible. Bellardini is also the lawyer of the Opera Don Folci, an organization of the diocese of Como (northern Italy, near Milan) which was in charge of the preseminar. According to the lawyers, there was no credible evidence and the statements of the witnesses clearly show, according to them, that the hypothesis of a crime does not stand.

One of the most impressive testimonies is that of LG, two initials with which we prefer to call the alleged victim who does not want to publicly reveal his name. LG said he had been abused by Martinelli, who was then a seminarian and then a consecrated priest, since he was 13 years old. It all started at the end of 2006 and lasted until 2013. LG said that Martinelli would get into his bed while he was sleeping and the other boys in the room were sleeping or pretending to be asleep when he was there. “The actual sexual intercourse took place in a room that Martinelli had appropriated and which was called“ the pharmacy ”but also in the priest’s room.

The judges asked him why he never reacted or shouted. LG said that when Martinelli entered the room, he tried to push him away by making noise with the dresser drawers or knocking against the wall. Martinelli then left but returned after a while. In 2009 he decided to speak with Rector Radice, but didn’t go into too many details and Radice didn’t believe him. “Now, at 30, I feel guilty for not being clearer,” he said. But LG was apparently not the only case. At the trial, a Polish colleague from the Preseminar also came forward, who also said he had been mistreated and pushed LG to tell his story.

Pope Francis and sexual abuse

Although this sentence cannot yet be considered final since the plaintiffs can appeal, for now there was no reaction from Pope Francis who promoted all these processes, both for abuses and for embezzlement, to make the activities of the Church more and more transparent. For this, last June, Francis removed a series of norms that prevented processes within the Vatican, such as the one that prevented a trial from being carried out in Vatican territory if the offended person had not presented the complaint in a period of one year from the moment of the facts. , which in the case of sexual abuse can rarely be verified because, out of fear or shame, abusers take a long time to mature their ability to report. Another important decision was the removal of the so-called “papal secrecy” which has hampered complaints and processes against the aggressors and those who covered them up.

The Pope has thus stepped up his campaign of “zero tolerance” regarding sexual abuse committed by members of the Church. And this has enabled certain episcopal conferences to bring up many previously unknown cases.

Perhaps one of the biggest scandals in this regard is the one revealed this week thanks to a study conducted by experts but commissioned by the Episcopal Conference of France. The study, which includes interviews, statistical analyzes and other data, indicates that over the past 70 years, that is, from 1950 to 2020, between 2,900 and 3,200 priests have sexually assaulted children and young people. Most of the victims were men between the ages of 10 and 13, according to the 2,500-page report. The number of victims would be 330,000 if we include those abused by religion teachers and lay staff of the Church, among others.

In Wednesday’s general audience, referring to this report, Pope Francis said “now is the time for shame.” “I wish to express my sadness to the victims, my pain for the trauma suffered, but also my shame, our shame” for “the too long inability of the Church to put this question at the center of its concerns”, added Francisco.