A 1962 document secretly sent to bishops is now notorious. Called Crimen Sollicitationis, it outlines the procedure bishops should follow when dealing with allegations of child abuse, homosexuality and sodomy by clergy. Under threat of excommunication from the Catholic Church, she kept everyone involved a secret.
The document was republished by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2001 and sent to all bishops. But instead of calling for more openness and cooperation with authorities, as law enforcement and victims have been calling for, he reiterated their policy and ensured that the law of silence applies to all child abuse cases involving priests. Cardinal Ratzinger also directed that all cases should now be referred directly to his office, which will retain “exclusive jurisdiction” over the allegations. This is the policy of the Catholic Church to this day, with Cardinal Ratzinger now Pope Benedict XVI.
The policies outlined in the above-mentioned document have resulted in systemic failures that have resulted in large numbers of priests being effectively allowed to re-abuse and many more children at risk.
As this documentary explores, Colm O’Gorman is the man responsible for breaking down decades of abuse by Irish Catholic priests in the BAFTA-winning BBC special Prosecution of the Pope. He linked international “systematic evidence” that the Vatican had a policy that covered up the sexual abuse of thousands of children around the world.
In “Sex Crimes and the Vatican,” O’Gorman examines four separate international cases of widespread clergy abuse and brings the Roman Catholic Church to justice for reckless child endangerment. Asked O’Gorman, “Has the Church failed in its commitment as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?
