PREDA
Once priests who are found guilty of child sexual abuse are convicted and jailed like other pedophiles, that is when this widespread problem would begin to lessen, if not end. Archbishop José S. Palma of Cebu was honest in admitting there are child-abusing priests and said they would be held accountable. Priests committing such crimes against children "deeply wound the very fabric of our faith life and community and cause irreparable damage to the lives of the victims that can scar them for life," he said.
However, Palma did not say how and if he would help child victims heal from the abuse and their parents file charges against the priest-perpetrator. The Church, as an institution, already has a long history of covering up and protecting abusive priests and denying justice and healing to their victims.
The archbishop may have acknowledged the serious nature of these crimes, but no church agency has helped a clerical sex abuse victim to file a case and testify in court. No priest has ever been convicted in the Philippines when they should be. This creates a culture of impunity among priests, making them feel as though the law did not apply to them. Is this evidence of collusion between church officials, some prosecutors and judges — which some critics might call a conspiracy — not to prosecute or to dismiss the cases? This would allow guilty priests to walk free and abuse more children.
Take the case of 11-year-old Jan-jan (not his real name). He alleged that a priest, Fr. Serlito Villar, repeatedly sexually assaulted him and showed lewd conduct toward him before and after celebrating Mass. If this happened, it has to be seen as despicable. Villar is from St. Francis Xavier Parish, Poblacion village, Alegria, Cebu. Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Julius Torreon Ompad, backed by Provincial Prosecutor Ludivico Vistal Cutaran, made a very strong case against the priest, and they filed against him five counts of rape with sexual assault and one count of lascivious conduct at the Regional Trial Court Branch 62 in Oslob. The priest was granted bail, and his next hearing is scheduled for April. Justice delayed is justice denied. Is the delay meant to give time to pressure the victim to drop his complaints, or what?
A decree issued by Pope Francis in May 2019, "Vos estis lux mundi," made it very clear that all clergy, particularly bishops, must report all serious, credible allegations of child abuse to the Vatican. If a bishop does not act, he will be held accountable. Also, all Catholic clergy and lay people are required to report abuse to the civil authorities through a social worker, nongovernmental organization or any church authority that may inform the Vatican. The name of the person reporting will be kept confidential, and he or she will not endure discrimination, prejudice and retaliation, the pope said.
This writer was invited to the Vatican in September 2015 to assist in drafting for Pope Francis the Plan of Action on child protection during a five-day international symposium. There, in a conference center overlooking St. Peter's Square, 42 delegates from every continent drafted what would be an instruction from the pontiff on the protection and care of abandoned and abused children, street people, and migrants.
It was a challenging task. After it was done, it was presented to Pope Francis. He personally greeted the 42 delegates one by one, including this writer. This strong, inspiring document was accepted and endorsed by the pope: every child must be protected by all, especially the Church.
This applies to the Archdiocese of Cebu, where several priests are named in BishopAccountability.org's recently launched database of clerics accused or convicted of abuse. Should they not stand trial? The archdiocese chancery seems to believe so. It released a statement, quoting Jesus in the Good News Translation of Matthew 18:6–7: "If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better that a millstone be tied around his neck and he be drowned in the deep sea."
That is a strong statement calling for the accountability of abusers. But the passage used by the archdiocese is a misleading translation. It should be: "If anyone should cause any of these little ones who believe in me to sin...." The passage above marks the innocent child as a sinner. How can a child be branded as such when Jesus of Nazareth identified himself with the children and stood by them when he said: "Whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me." (Matthew 18:5). Being faithful to the clear, unequivocal words of Jesus, we must welcome the innocent child as the one sinned against and bring the sinner to justice.
Bishops must also be held accountable, as Pope Francis said in "Vos estis lux mundi." This was acknowledged by Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David when he was quoted as saying: "The Pope himself has been more decisive in his moves to impose disciplinary action on us bishops if he finds evidence that we're not even lifting a finger to discipline our erring priests."
"Of course, we're not always successful in this regard, and we need the help and participation of our lay people, including our professional journalists, who are our allies in the quest for truth and fact-checking and the battle against disinformation. Let's keep the bridges open among ourselves," he said.
