The Church recognizes that she has destroyed records on sexual abuse

VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church has destroyed records on badual abuse perpetrators, recognized today.
the influential German cardinal Reinhard Marx at the historic Vatican summit on the fight against pedophilia.

"The archives that could have documented these terrible acts and the names of those responsible have been destroyed or even not created," said the president of the German Bishops' Conference.

"The badual abuse of children and young people is due, in no small part, to the abuse of power of the administration," said the German cardinal during his speech to the summit participants, including 114 presidents of episcopal conferences the world also called to speak of the silence and concealment of pedophilia on the part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

"Instead of punishing the guilty, it is the victims who have been reprimanded and silenced," he lamented.

"The procedures and procedures established to prosecute these crimes have been deliberately ignored, even erased or canceled," he insisted. He added: "In fact, the rights of the victims have been trampled and left to the free will of the individuals," denounced the cardinal.

The Archbishop of Munich and Freising, known for his progressive positions, criticized the fact that the "papal secret" is often presented as a justification by the Church and even worse in cases such as badual abuse perpetrated by priests.

Claim for greater transparency

The cardinal called for greater transparency of the trials conducted by the Church and demanded that the number of cases examined by the ecclesiastical courts and the details concerning them be disclosed.

In a gesture of proximity, the cardinal met Friday privately 16 victims of abuse of the group Ending Clerical Abuse (ECA), one of the entities calling for a march to seek justice immediately in cases of pedophilia scheduled this Saturday at the heart of Rome. The prelate then informed Pope Francisco of the content of the meeting which lasted 90 minutes and which was requested by the cardinal himself, reported the Vatican.

The German Catholic Church officially apologized last September after a report was published revealing badual badaults on more than 3,600 minors, perpetrated by clergy for decades.

Apologies for streaming

The same cardinal called for public "apologies" after reading the document reporting at least 3,677 victims between 1946 and 2014, most of them under the age of 13, who were victims of violence committed by some 1,670 ecclesiastics.

"Institutional mistrust leads to conspiracy theories about an organization and the creation of myths about it, and can be avoided if the facts are exposed in a transparent way," said the religious to 190 members of the leadership of the organization. 39: Church present at the Vatican meeting

The same cardinal asked for public "apologies" after the document reporting at least 3,677 victims between 1946 and 2014, most of them under the age of 13, who were victims of violence. the share of 1,670 ecclesiastics.

The hard intervention of the cardinal, transmitted in streaming, was above all devoted to the necessity of the transparency to recover the prestige of the Church.

"The correct legal procedures serve to establish the truth and constitute the basis of a proportionate punishment for the crime, and they establish confidence in the organization and in its direction," said the priest.

The influential cardinal finally urged the ecclesiastical hierarchy to "take a courageous step" towards "traceability and transparency" not only in the event of badual abuse but also in "the financial sector", another burning issue for the government. Church accused of dark finance and mysterious layoffs.

The official summit, which ends on Sunday with a final speech by the pope, is not intended to adopt a final document, although it is possible to define specific measures during the working sessions.

AFP Agency