Italian Church backs state investigations

ITALIAN bishops stressed the importance of cooperating with secular authorities investigating child abuse claims and expressed their support for victims of attacks by priests.

In a statement issued at the end of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) assembly, under way since last week, the bishops refuted claims they opposed working with police and investigators.

“They agree on the fact that a rigorous and transparent application of canonical procedural and criminal rules are the main path to search for the truth,” the statement said. “They do not oppose the state authorities whose task it is to investigate the substance of allegations, but rather support those authorities through faithful cooperation.”

It said the bishops “reaffirmed their support for the victims of abuse and their families, wounded and offended by the Church itself.” Victims’ associations and media reports have repeatedly questioned the extent to which the Catholic Church has worked with the police to punish offenders and prevent further abuse over the years.

Last week, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi strongly denied allegations by the New York Times that a longstanding Vatican secrecy rule prohibited senior church figures from reporting pedophilia cases to the police.

A 1962 canonical law cited by the daily “never in fact prohibited reporting abuse to the judicial authorities”, he said. Pope Benedict XVI has also come under fire over a 2001 directive he issued in his former role as Vatican doctrinal chief saying that investigations should be kept in-house.

But in the CEI statement, Italian bishops rallied to the pope’s defense, insisting he had shown a “determined and enlightened attitude”.

They praised him for leaving “no margins of uncertainty” and refusing to “indulge in downplaying” the scandals. “He invited the ecclesiastical community to ascertain the truth of what happened and take action where needed,” they said.

Read report