Imogen Calderwood
A GRANADA court has dropped charges against nine out of 10 Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing an altar boy.
Charges – which included ‘sexual abuse with penetration, exhibitionism and concealing evidence’ – were dropped because the crimes fell within the statute of limitations.
Charges were also dropped against the two laymen accused in the case.
This means that 11 of the 12 suspects will not be charged because too much time has passed between the alleged crimes and the complaints being made.
The investigation was launched following intervention in the case by Pope Francis himself.
The pope also telephoned the alleged victim – now aged 24 – to offer his apologies last November.
The lawyer for the alleged victim insists that his client was unable to report the crime until he had moved away from Granada.
However, the decision has angered people for what is seen as a failure by the Vatican to punish senior officials who have been accused of covering up scandals.
This is extremely disturbing news for the victims and for innocent children today. These accused men go free because of a technicality in the archaic predator friendly laws. Child predators need to be kept far away from children forever.
Let’s hope that anyone who may have knowledge or may have been harmed by any of these accused clerics, will find the courage to come forward and contact law enforcement, no matter how long ago it happened.
Silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
No wonder Frank urged the intervention of the police in these cases. He would have had the knowledge of this outrageous Spanish statute of limitations whispered in his ear.
Utterly atrocious outcome for the brave souls who came forward.
Wo be to kids. It’s all about protecting the perpetrators … especially if they are of the cloth.
As i said in a previous article regarding this. The Vatican is above the law, as Canon Law was penned by them and implemented by countries that have a concordant with them.
The few billion they have paid out in sex crimes over the world is nothing to the estimated 3,500 billion wealth they have, and that is a conservative figure.
The Vatican is the ultimate criminal organisation. A Roman fraud that has set back civilisation by hundreds of years. We are in the Age of Ignorance.
There are far more important laws to amend, such as road speed limits and banning public protests. Spain in a nutshell. Other countries have brought prosecutions for cases that happened decades ago, so why not Spain?
What an obscenity this decision is. I cannot find the words to adequately express what I feel. Terrible sexual offences which are criminal and only happened 8-11years ago and they are dropped just like that.
Where is the EU to demand that these crimes are dealt with according to modern standards of justice – another reason to disband this corrupt and worthless organisation – it only exists to benefit big business and does nothing to protect ordinary EU citizens who actually pay for this politicians and civil servants gravy train.
This now means that these filthy priests employed by the immensely wealthy and degenerate Catholic church can and will get away with their crimes – how many others will be hitting the ‘holy wine’ in celebration.
Robert – a Roman fraud – yes, concocted in 200AD (that’s if the sky pixie actually existed) by a bunch of nasty Roman misogynists and in 1800 years they have got worse not better.
Natural justice – Death Wish style? la genta es muy pasivo, es el problemo.
Hello Stuart, don’t count on the EU to help the Vatican, as they received a generous early Christmas present from European Union chiefs with the announcement that illegal tax exemption from 2006 to 2011, which saved the Catholic Church billions of euros, will not have to be paid back.
It is surely quite significant that many of the EU’s founding fathers, including Alcide de Gasperi, Robert Schuman, and Konrad Adenauer, were devout Catholics. Adenauer, for example, was responsible for founding the Christian Democratic Union, today Germany’s largest political party, incorporating a mix of Protestant-Catholic dialogue, Catholic political thought, and conservative social policy. Adenauer has even been championed by some European bishops as a potential cause for canonization.
The EU started with the Treaty of Rome, and even further back if you take Charlemagne as the head of the Holy Roman Empire. It is the RC church aim to control the world and Europe with the help of the International Bankers. The EU won’t do a thing to help the victims of this sex crime.
This abomination of Justice made by the Granada Court, within Spanish Law – STINKS! The Victims of such abuse should take their case to the EUCJ for proper adjudication, substantial compensation & all legal fees.
The RC Church has more money and assets than GOD! And their priests’ sexual abuse problems continue for decades – check Mass., USA settlement with Cardinal Lord, et al. The Vatican, “granted” a Non Taxable status with their income and Real Estate assets – check why the USA lists the Vatican on its Money Laundering List. Do visit the Vatican and see how the “poor priests and Pope” live. Amazing!
Lars Bergqvist, the Swedish ambassador to the Vatican, said: “We should note that the EU was founded by devoted Catholics, such as Adenauer (German), Schumann (French) and de Gasperi (Italian). All of them had the union of Europe as an object.” (This took place immediately after the Catholic leaders Hitler, Mussolini and Franco had failed in their attempts to do the same.) Taken from the South-Swedish daily the Sydsvenskan, Oct. 16, 1991, under the paragraph titled The Road to the EU Goes Through Rome.