Chile presented a map of ecclesiastical sexual abuse

The network of ecclesiastical survivors of abuse in Chile Saturday presented a map that details, locates, contextualizes, systematizes and characterizes the scourge of badual abuse and conscience experienced in the heart of the Chilean Catholic Church.

The initiative, entirely private by the organization and funded by the victims themselves on a secure server against hacking, has up to now collected 230 cases of victims and prioritizes the people involved, facilitating and concentrating information leaks. I found it scattered until now.

The map will be updated weekly.

Its purpose is to make the violations even more visible and to ask the Chilean State to create institutions and bodies hosting the suffering and need for reparation of the victims, including a Truth, Justice and Reparation Commission, similar to those that exist in the country for human rights violations under dictatorship.

In fact, the card was presented to an audience of about two hundred people. Museum of Memory, a space dedicated to the fight for human rights. Among the participants, there were dozens of anonymous victims of abuse and their families, as well as a small political representation of some MPs who wanted to be part of it.

Among the 230 existing cases, there are two cardinals, six bishops, 35 authorities (chancellor, school director, vicars, superiors, officials, etc.), three chaplains, 146 priests, five deacons, 36 brothers, consecrated men and women. consecrated and nine lay people, teachers and catechists.

It also denounces the existence of badociations and organized illicit networks created within the institution to abuse pacts of silence within the Church, similar to those concluded between the military in times of dictatorship.

"In this place that keeps the memory of the atrocities, they received us today because they are also atrocities, it is also part of the history of Chile and we are among the victims of the rights violations. of man in Chile, they only happened in dictatorship, as it happened, but also in democracy, "he said at the presentation of the map. Jaime Concha, victim of the Marists and one of the organizers of the network.

The Survivors' Network draws attention to the fact that, although practically all religious orders in Chile present a sort of complaint, three of them are concentrating a larger number: the Salesians (27), the Jesuits (24) and the Marists (26). .

It is precisely these three orders that "concentrate the largest number of children in their care in children's homes and schools" currently administered by them in Chile, Concha warned. "Children, girls who are part of the schools in the hands of these congregations are still exposed to today."

The sources of data are the testimonies of survivors, press releases with complaints appearing related to the map, information provided by the Chilean prosecutor's office, the Catholic Church itself which has provided information in recent months and the BishopAccountability organization.

According to the figures managed by the organization, 7% of the world's priests would be victims of badual abuse, but this rate would double in Chile, reaching between 11 and 15% of the Chilean clergy.

"We are a group of voices calling for profound changes to end abuses in our society.Our dream is that survivors of badual abuse are a kind of extinction, which incites us to create this imperfect map. ", read the manifesto of the organization. Helmutz Kramer, another spokesperson and organizer of the network.

"We should not be making cards, we should be supported by state agencies on our path to healing, but with pain, we realize that the nightmares of our abuses overlap with the l? horror of the present: children, adolescents and vulnerable people in danger and that's why we reacted! ", he continued.

In the country of South America, an initiative to determine the imprescriptibility of badual abuse of minors will soon be discussed in Congress, in which the card was also launched.

Many Survivor members understood how their case was prescribed when they were able to follow the difficult, long and painful way of recognizing and recognizing themselves, and exposing the trauma that they experienced. they have lived and to identify the physical and psychological consequences the abuses left in them.

"We call ourselves survivors because some did not survive," explained one of the victims in a catharsis in the form of a play, also referring to those who were suicidal because they could not bear the consequences of aggression or those who still could not talk. he.