PHILIPPINES
Rappler
Chay F. Hofileña
[EXCLUSIVE] In the Philippines, very rough and possibly outdated estimates say about 3% of the country’s priests may have committed sexual misconduct
(READ: Part 1: Ex-Jesuit accused of sexual abuse)
MANILA, Philippines – Days after the Chinese New Year of 2015, Lucas (not his real name) received a supposed email from the man he accused of sexually abusing him when he was a minor. It had been decades since their last communication.
Dated February 22, 2015, the email was shared with the Jesuits investigating the case. Parts of it were also shown to us.
“It is with great sadness, sorrow and grief, above all, of humility that I write this letter in response to your email. I know this letter will never undo the hurt and pain that you have gone through all these years but after having gathered enough courage myself, I will try in my own fumbling way,” it began.
The writer, who by then had left the Jesuits to become a diocesan priest, continued, “I am old now and I also want to be at peace first with you, with God and myself.” He left the Society of Jesus in 1998 for reasons undisclosed after his ordination 10 years before.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.