Catholic Priests

SESSION OF THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2001

Human Rights

Karamanou (PSE). – Mr. President, dear colleagues, unfortunately, this is a very painful truth. The conspiracy of silence has been broken, revealing that Catholic priests and bishops are involved in criminal acts against nuns in at least 23 countries. The report, published in the American magazine “National Catholic Reporter,” speaks of rapes, sexual abuses, infections with AIDS, coercion into abortions, extortion, and persecution of those who had the courage to report these acts of violence to the responsible authorities.

No matter how much the Vatican representative Joaquín Navarro-Valls tried to downplay the issue or limit it only to Africa, sexual abuses and violations of women’s fundamental rights remain a reality, and, of course, neither bishops nor priests are above the law. For this reason, my political group demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice and that the judicial authorities of the 23 countries where these criminal acts occurred fully investigate all cases of violence against women.

For its part, the Holy See should make public all five reports related to the issue, strip the perpetrators of any official title, cooperate with judicial authorities, restore the nuns who were dismissed from their positions, provide necessary protection and compensation to the victims, and, above all, take measures to prevent similar situations in the future. It should also educate priests on the fundamental human rights of women.