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	UN Digs into Priests’ Sexual Abuses in RP By Christine F. Herrera Manila Standard [Philippines] February 28, 2005 The Washington-based Catholics for a Free Choice has found that because of the policy of secrecy in the Roman Catholic Church, erring men of the cloth are practically untouchable, at least in the Philippines. Standard has obtained a copy of the 27-page report that details a dozen cases of sexual abuse involving local and foreign priests in the Philippines. The report recommends that the Holy See and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines rescind the requirements of "secrecy" on sexual abuse cases involving members of the clergy. It said the Holy See was "delinquent" in its obligations, and failed to submit a full report on child abuse by clergy and members of religious orders. The report was submitted last month to the United Nations, the Holy See and the CBCP Convention on the Rights of the Child. CfFC commissioned two Philippine nongovernment organizations, the Linangan or Likhaan ng mga Kababaihan Inc. and the Child Justice League Inc., to conduct a study for the United Nations on how the laws of the Holy See affect the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Both Likhaan and CJLI prepared last December the report for the CfFC, which in turn submitted the findings and recommendations to the UN. Likhaan is a women’s health organization that holds education and training programs on the subjects of women, health, development and rights. Among its concerns is the violation against women and their children and advocacy toward ensuring that perpetrators are not given preferential treatment. It is headed by Dr. Junice Melgar. CJLI is an organization of lawyers providing free legal assistance to child abuse victims and children in conflict with the law. CJLI has also been involved in a few cases where the perpetrators of child sexual abuse have been Catholic priests. It is headed by lawyer Eric Mallonga. Holy See’s role "The Philippine government, as State party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), should hold the Catholic Church in the Philippines and the Holy See accountable for clergy abuse of minors that happen within the Philippines," the report noted. In May and September 2002, CfFC submitted reports to the UNCRC that presented the worldwide problem of sexual abuse of children and adolescents by Catholic clergy and religious. As a result, CfFC was asked to submit a more detailed information on the topic. Since then, the CfFC, with partners in Canada, Germany, France and Austria, have submitted NGO reports to the committee on the dangers these countries face in complying with the Convention, due to the status and role of the laws of the Holy See. The UNCRC was ratified by the Philippine Senate on July 20, 1990 and by the Holy See in September 1990. It has been ratified by 187 UN member-countries. With the ratification, both the Philippine government and the Holy See were bound by the provisions of the UNCRC that require State parties to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse. Bishop’s move Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales was among the bishops interviewed by the CfFC. Based on the 27-page report, Rosales commented that in the theological realm, a "father-son relationship" does exist between a bishop and his priest. In terms of clerical misbehavior or abuse, this relationship should be seen as that between a son and a good father who knows how to admonish and even punish the wrongs committed by the son. "Rosales agreed that reporting to civil or secular authorities must be done. Erring priests must not be coddled or protected, especially if a warrant of arrest has been issued. However, he was open in recognizing that this is still dependent on the bishops and priests involved," the report said. "If the media have already reported the false accusation, the bishop of superior should ask those involved in the reporting to clear the name of the falsely accused. Evidently, the Church finds use for the civil forum when it proves beneficial to the accused cleric but not when it would benefit the victims who are minors and considered vulnerable by law. It should need no further emphasis that paramount consideration must always be for the abused children," the report said. Pontifical secret In its findings, the report shows that the Holy See has overtly claimed responsibility for managing sexual abuse cases and the Holy See does not intend to comply with the UNCRC owing to its own canon law that provides that cases should be "subject to the pontifical secret." "This is the Holy See’s highest level of confidentiality, just short of the absolute secrecy required by sacramental confession and reserves the right for the Holy See alone to punish any party who reveals information about clerical abuse of children. "The document mandates that no one but a priest may be involved in the proceedings concerning clergy sexual abuse of minors. These provisions raise questions about the integrity of the Church’s internal processes in dealing with cases of molestation and child abuse, as well as questions of how this law might conflict with laws of the geographical defined jurisdictions in which the subjects of the Holy See reside," the report said. On the recommendation to the Catholic Church in the Philippines, the report calls on the bishops to take an "unequivalent stand" in identifying and removing pedophiles from pastoral work and to develop a national policy to this effect. "The CBCP must clearly address the problem of recidivism, which is particularly high among diagnosed pedophiles," the report said. "The CBCP must ensure that child molesters are not returned to ministry with children."
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