Italian protesters demand action on sex abuses in Catholic Church

Italian protesters demand action on sex abuses in Catholic Church
May 28, 2022, 9:30 am

Vatican in Rome/Pixabay

The USnews reported, citing Reuters, a small group of protesters approached the Apostolic Nunciature building, near the centre of Rome, carrying boards with pictures of men and women with blood-stained underwear. One of the protesters had a nun's veil on her head.

They said they took inspiration from a protest staged in the Estonian capital Tallinn in April which sought to draw attention to alleged violence committed by invading Russian forces against women in Ukraine. In that protest demonstrators applied fake blood to their underwear and down their legs.

Aactivist Francesco Zanardi said: "I have unfortunately experienced paedophilia and every victim knows they cannot recover from what they have been through, but the greatest wish is that other children do not suffer what we have experienced."

Francesco Zanardi, 51, a victim of church sexual abuse, and founder and president of Rete l'Abuso (The Abuse Network), poses for a photograph after holding a flash mob outside the Vatican embassy to Italy, calling for an investigation into sexual abuse in the Italian Catholic Church, in Rome, Italy, May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Zanardi, 51, runs Rete l'Abuso (The Abuse Network), and in February formed a consortium called "Beyond the Great Silence" along with eight other groups to put pressure on Italy's Church to agree to an impartial investigation.

Italian bishops are divided over whether an eventual full-scale investigation should be internal, using existing resources such as diocesan anti-abuse committees, or be conducted by an outside group, potentially comprising academics, lawyers and abuse experts.

The new Vatican law provisions criminalize priests and laypeople for sex crimes

They are also divided over whether it should be confined to the recent past or go back decades.

Zanardi said: "A 'super partes' (impartial) body is needed, which in this case is the state, to manage the situation, but the state has been the only major absent party in this whole issue for years now."

Source: usnews

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