Catholic India defends Cardinal Gracias against "missed victims of abuse"

The Indian Catholic Church has defended itself for the way it has handled allegations of badual abuse reported by the BBC.

On Thursday, a senior cardinal admitted that he could have handled the allegations that had been presented to him better.

The BBC reported two cases in which Cardinal Oswald Gracias was accused of failing to respond quickly or providing support to the victims.

Cardinal Gracias, who is archbishop of Mumbai, is suggested by some as the next possible pope.

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Victims and their supporters allege that Cardinal Gracias did not take the allegations of abuse seriously when reported to him.

The archdiocese of Mumbai sent to the BBC a statement in which he stated that in the case of the alleged rape of a young boy by a parish priest in Mumbai, the cardinal had met the boy and his family when an appointment had been requested.

"The cardinal tried to console the parents, the cardinal had to leave for Rome the same evening, and after the complainants had left, the cardinal immediately telephoned [the accused priest] and informed him of the allegations against him ".

The priest denied these allegations, but "the cardinal dismissed him immediately and told him that he was not even allowed to celebrate Mbad the next morning," the statement said. .

The cardinal then asked a bishop "to keep in touch with the family and to start an investigation", then he left for Rome.

When he arrived in Rome, the cardinal phoned the bishop, who told him that the family had then informed the police.

Later, the church offered the family extra help, but the family refused, the statement said. However, the cardinal understands their pain and remains ready to help.

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Cardinal Gracias is one of four men to hold a major Vatican conference this week on child abuse.

The issue of badual abuse within the church is called the greatest crisis of the Vatican in modern times. The integrity of the Catholic Church would depend on the results of this conference.

Over the past year, the Catholic Church has been the subject of numerous allegations of badual abuse around the world.

But while the abuse complaints have made headlines in North and South America, Europe and Australia, the problems of Asian countries are poorly known. In countries like India, the denunciation of abuse is the subject of social shame.

Indian Catholics say that there is a culture of fear and silence in the Catholic Church about badual abuse by priests. Those who dared to speak say that it was a trial.