A top ranking Catholic Church official says that around 100 cases of clerical sexual abuse cases have been reported in Italy over the last 10 years. That amounts to an average of ten a year.
Mariano Crociata, a top ranking official in the Italian Bishops conference refused to say how many of the cases had resulted in disciplinary action against the priests involved. “It is the number that gives you an idea of the situation,” he said.
The sex abuse scandals continue to engulf the Catholic Church throughout American and Europe. The Vatican has been accused of covering up these scandals by victims and human rights groups.
In other news, Bishops in England and Wales have called for Catholics to set aside special days to pray for both the victims and abusers caught up in these scandals.
A statement from the Catholic Bishop’s Conference read:
"We pray for all who have suffered abuse; for those who mishandled these matters and added to the suffering of those affected."
And the Church also asked for prayers to be said for the abusers themselves, adding: "From this prayer we do not exclude those who have committed these sins of abuse.
"They have a journey of repentance and atonement to make."
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