På nytt (jeg skrev også om han tidligere) har msgr. Scicluna uttalt seg om overgrepssakene i Den katolske Kirke, som han er ansvarlig for i Troskongregasjonen. Pave Benedikt skal til Malta snart (der msgr. Scicluna kommer fra), og i den forbindelse er monsignoren utspurt om mange ting. Det han sier om overgrepssaker i Kirken er viktig nok til å leses i sin helhet (besøk gjerne også min kilde):
One accusation is that people in your position have not been willing enough to be convinced of the guilt of your fellow priests.
The accusation that it’s all in-house is very old and I think that efforts to render the process more transparent will only help the Church. The Church has to be very, very clear on a simple point: that we are interested in the truth because only the truth will set us free. When it comes to minors, the paramount concern is the safety of children in churches and in organisations run by the Church.
You went on record recently saying: «We have to get our act together and start working for more transparency in investigations and more adequate responses to the problem.» Implicit in that statement is a criticism of the Church.
Yes. That comment echoes what Cardinal Ratzinger said in his 2005 Via Crucis at a time when we were dealing with cases and trying to manage the frustration some of them made us feel because justice was not meted out as it should be. We are on a learning curve and should learn to do things more expeditiously.
You have talked of a ‘culture of silence’…
That was a reference to Italy but it does not just apply to Italy. Asia is a concern, so is Africa and other parts of the world.
Should advanced age be a factor when it comes to taking action against a priest?
It is when it comes to penalties. The main concern is that the accused priest should not be a danger to children or young people. If such priests are old or bedridden, they are supervised and that is a very important concern for the community. If they are still a risk then of course, that is another question. People of mature age have been dismissed from the clerical state by the Pope because they would not agree to be placed under supervision. There is no single solution. Every case is a unique tragedy.
What steps have been taken by the Congregation in recent years to improve the safeguards?
Promotion of a safe environment for children is left to the individual diocese. The diocese has to promote the protection of children on its own territory. It also has to be responsible for the screening of personnel – clergy and non-clergy – as well as liaising with the statutory authorities to be able to implement any safeguards. So it is not the responsibility of the Congregation to enforce or impose protection of children policies, but we are responsible for the negative side – that is, people who offend are brought to our tribunal. That is our specific role.
Does the Congregation view paedophilia as an incurable condition?
This is not a question of dogma or doctrine, but a question of psychology and human sciences – which have developed on this aspect in recent years. There are compulsive paedophiles who are sick and who cannot control their compulsion. However, most cases (60 per cent) involve ephebophilia (sexual preference for mid-to-late adolescents). If you’re talking about sexual relations with a 17-year-old, that would be heterosexuality or homosexuality. So diagnosis has to be carried out on a case by case basis and we would need expert advice before deciding.
Does the Church now just want to get rid of these priests?
Dismissing the person from the clerical state means they have no status as clergy and they cannot abuse the trust people instinctively put in clergy. We have to ensure they are not destitute – that is what Canon Law demands – but the outcome of the future of such people is a concern which the Church has to share with society.
How has this issue affected the morale of the Church – in Rome and outside of Rome?
The current pressure doesn’t help morale. But I think Catholics are used to being under pressure and this is another type. However, I find that all this pressure not only humiliates us but purifies our commitment and also gives us a deeper understanding of the virtue of hope – which is about persevering in moments of tribulation. In his encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), Pope Benedict talks in a very beautiful way of the gift the virtue of hope gives us. In moments of great tribulation and humiliation, the virtue of hope helps us to go on, to go forward and helps us survive through the storm.
Some people have described the Church’s current predicament as a crisis. Do you see it like that?
If crisis means a turning point, then it’s welcome. Because that means that whatever good comes from this – and good will come from this – is going to change the way we look at certain problems and the way we address them. Crises are also opportunities. And these are very good opportunities for us to grow.
Det finnes dessverre eksempler på at Vatikanet tidligere har hatt en positiv holdning til dekkoperasjoner overfor pedofile prester. Vatikanets talsmann Federico Lombardi sa i en uttalelse 15. april at det derfor var nødvendig å gjøre Troskongregasjonen til kompetent organ for slike saker og henviste til et eksempel fra 2001. Da roste kardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, som da var prefekt for Kongregasjonen for kleresiet, en biskop i Frankrike som hadde forsøkt å dekke over misbruket til en pedofil prest i sitt eget bispedømme: «Vous avez bien agi et je me réjouis d’avoir un confrère dans l’épiscopat qui, aux yeux de l’histoire et de tous les autres évêques du monde, aura préféré la prison plutôt que de dénoncer son fils-prêtre». [http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/04/15/pedophilie-le-vatican-mis-en-cause-sur-un-cas-en-france_1334427_3224.html]
[Denne saken har jeg skrevet om her: http://aomoi.net/blog/arkiv/2342 – RED.]