Even more Scandals for the Church

Father Bucci stated that, even though sexual abuse is something hideous, the comparison with abortion is unfair. His words came after it became public a report he wrote in which he excommunicated a group of lawmakers from Rhode Island who supported the state’s abortion law; a law approved in June that established protection for abortion. The 40 lawmakers listed in the report must not:

• Receive communion,
• Act as godfathers
• Read in the mass.

Abortion is considered by the Catholic Church as a grave sin that goes against the moral law; nevertheless, in 2016, Pope Francis extended indefinitely the power Catholic priests had to forgive them.

On the other hand, Carol Hagan McEntee, one of the lawmakers included on the list, said in an interview that claiming pedophilia does not kill anyone is absurd; she also added that “it steals the childhood and soul” of the abused children. In 2019, the same lawmaker presented a bill asking for the extension to limitation statute of the State for victims of child abuse.

The lawmaker’s sister, Anne Hagan Webb, said she was abused by a priest from Sacred Heart when she was a little girl. Mc Entee considers that the Catholic Church has not held itself accountable for the abuse accusations against children. She also invited Bucci to visit the State’s Capitol to listen to victims’ testimonies so he can have a complete different opinion. Many of the victims of child abuse by the hands of priest said they lose faith completely.

Putting down Bucci’s Flames

Richard Bucci has not said anything regarding his statements; therefore, in his defense, the Bishop of Providence spoke on behalf of the Catholic Church to calm everyone down, and to shed some light regarding the opinion expressed in the report.

Monsignor Tobin said that both child abuse and abortion are considered, by the Catholic Church, as horrible and immoral actions that carry heavy consequences.

Moreover, he emphasized that “sexual abuse, not matter when or where it happens, causes a lingering and devastating pain that can even last for life for the victims/survivors, their families, and the entire community.”

Likewise, he cleared out that all claims of sexual abuse must be taken seriously, and there needs be joined efforts to protect children and adolescents, to eradicate the abuse, to process the abusers, and to offer assistance to those affected by the abuse.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before becoming Pope, qualified child abuse as “a horrendous sin in the eyes of God”; he also added that people who have committed sexual abuses must not receive the Eucharist without confessing said sin.

On this matter, the victims of child abuse from priests expect heavier actions from the Church to eliminate this problem for the sake of the following generations.

The post Richard Bucci: Pedophilia does not kill anyone, Abortion does first appeared on Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit - Official Site.

Denouncing the Abuse

The 263-pages report is set by the state’s maximum authority for accusations, the Prosecutor’s Office. The report compiles several disturbing and graphic stories of sex abuse to minors; these were documented by the authorities.

As a result of this investigation, Colorado’s Office filed a total of 166 cases of minors victimized by 43 Catholic priests. Most cases, 127 of those denounced by the Archdiocese of Denver, took place during the 60s and 70s.

As to the victims, 149 are boys who, at the time the crime was committed, were between the ages of 10 and 14. On the other hand, it was known that three Denver priests committed most of these abuses.

The most recent and verified incident by the Catholic Church is from 1989, in Pueblo, and the most recent denounced filed was in 2011, in the same city. Early this decade, the Catholic dioceses from Colorado began the process of immediate suspension of the accused priests, a different attitude from the one they had: waiting almost 20 years to take actions.

The archdiocese gave access to the personal files of the priests, including those not in service and those deceased, which help verified if the said priests were still in service, and to identify other potential cases of abuse.

70 Years of Abuse of Limits and Children with Issues

Image Taken from the Official Facebook Account of Everyone against Child Sex Abuse

It is estimated that in the last 70 years, in the dioceses of Denver, these abuses have taken place, but have been classified as euphemism to hide their real nature.

The prosecutor declared that is a dark and painful chapter in history, and made a call to denounced possible new victims, whose cases and testimonies have not been compiled in the investigation.

Until 1990, the Church classified the cases of abuse as a series of children problems or violation of limits caused by nervousness, it was an euphemism used by the Church to hide the abuses.

According to the report, most acts were committed by five priests who abused 102 children. Of these 100 cases, only 10 were denounced to the police.

The victims represented by the Network of Survivors of Molestation by Priests, known as SNAP in Spanish, wait for the accusations of child sex abuse to be remitted to the District Prosecutor’s Office to open the opportunity to file denounces, even if these are too old or the accused are dead.

Moreover, there should have been included the abuses done by priests before they were ordeal. It was also omitted any sexual misconduct from the cleric with adults, including other people from within the Church like sisters, and men in the seminary.

The post Child Sex Abuse: over 150 Cases of Catholic Priests in Denver first appeared on Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit - Official Site.