Crimes of Faith. The scandals that shook the Catholic Church

4,800. It is the estimated number of sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church in the last seven decades, according to the Independent Committee for the study of sexual abuse against children. The work of this commission began after the scandal in France, where more than 300,000 cases of sexual abuse were reported at institutions of the French Catholic Church. The numbers scare, especially if we consider that the amount of real cases can be almost ten times higher.

The controversy of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has decades of existence and every day reports of victims around the world arise. As a maximum leader of Catholics, Pope Francis was, from the outset, a symbol of transparency against the cover -up of crimes perpetuated by members of the Church.

A year after his appointment, Francisco created a commission to advise the Vatican and prevent sexual abuse practices for the clergy.

“I prefer an embarrassed church because it discovers its sins, and whom God forgives, than a hypocritical church, who hides his sins, and whom God does not forgive,” defended the Pontiff.

In their visits to the countries where cases of abuse were revealed, Francisco made a point of listening to the victims.

« The Church cannot try to hide the tragedy of abuse, whatever they may be. Not when abuses occur in families, clubs or other types of institutions. The church must be an example to help solve them, making them known in society and families. It is the church that has to offer safe spaces to listen to the victims, » ​​said the Pope, visiting Lisbon, where he is He gathered at the closed door with thirteen victims of sexual abuse by the clergy in Portugal.

The progressive attitude with which he exceeded his pontificate and the option to bring out themes that stain the image of the Catholic Church have not always been well received. An internal war was quickly formed within the Catholic bosom, with attacks from opponents of the most conservative wing.

In an interview with Sunrisein March 2019 Frédéric Martel, author of the book In the Vatican closet, He revealed that the Pope was « being a victim of a plot, a Kabbalah mounted by cardinals who lie a lot » and « are even funded by US organizations of extreme right ones who pay them to put the Pope away. »

According to Martel, “People who attack Pope Francis are often very homophobic cardinals and themselves gay ones themselves. George Pell (the Australian cardinal who has just been convicted of sexual abuse) was an extremely conservative pope opponent. And attacked Francisco because Francis was very liberal in sexual morals. I interviewed Pell, he is probably gay. And also abused children. And at the same time he says, ‘We have to be against gays, we have to be faithful to the gospel.’ This is the ‘schizophrenia’ that Francisco said ”.

« The Pope tried to change things with the first Synod. He tried to open the church to divorced couples, bring more women to church, wanted to be a little more tolerant with gay civilians, tried to find solutions. And it was locked by these very homophobic cardinals who are themselves gays, » he adds.

Covering of sexual abuse cases

The SNAP Association (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests’) denounced six important Vatican cardinals, including two of the best -placed names to succeed Pope Francis, to have hidden cases of sexual abuse of minors.

Among the accused are the Cardinals Péter Erddo, Archbishop of Budapest, Hungary, and Luis Antonio Tagle, Filipino known as “Francisco Asia”, who are both pointed out as “papabile” (likely Papa candidate).

In addition to these, the American Kevin Farrell are also accused; Argentine Victor Manuel Fernández, Francisco’s compatriot and one of the Pope’s most important theological counselors; Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Bisposis Synodis the American Robert Francis Prevost.

Both Fernández and PREVOST have direct responsibilities in managing cases of minors abuse.

Peter Isely, responsible for the oldest international association of sexual abuse victims, stressed that survivors cannot « ignore the tragic reality » that many of Francis’ cardinals are « men who have covered abuse. » « Now some of these men are being considered as candidates for the next Pope, » he said.

Cardinal sentenced to five years in prison for corruption

In 2020, the Church suffered another shake: Giovanni Angelo Becciu, one of Francisco’s closest cardinals and one of the most important figures within the Vatican, unexpectedly resigned.

The news fell like an earthquake in the Holy See, when it was revealed that the resignation had been made at the Pope’s request after allegations of corruption against Becciu. “I said to the Pope, Why are you doing this to me in front of everyone?” The cardinal told the Italian press. « All this is surreal. Until yesterday I felt a friend of the Pope, the faithful executor of the Pope. The Holy Father explained that I did favors my brothers and his business with church money … But I’m sure I did not practice any crime, » said Becciu. But the words did not come to convince the pontiff or justice.

At issue would be buying a property in London in the amount of 350 million euros, by the Vatican Secretariat of State, when Cardinal Becciu took the place of « substitute » of the holder of this place. Regarding this case, the Court considered that there was a crime of embezzlement in relation to illicit use.

The other accusation of embezzlement, given as proven, referred to the payment, on two occasions, of the total amount of 125 thousand euros, through an account on behalf of the Caritas da Diocese (Italian) of Ozieri, intended for the SPES cooperative, whose president was Antonino Becciu, brother of Bishop Becciu.

In another autonomous investigation, the cardinal emerges linked to a “security consultant”, by his name Marogna Cecilia, to which he will have paid, through the Secretariat of State, sums of over 570 thousand euros, paid by the Secretariat of State to Marogna. Payment was made “on the grounds (…) that money should be used to facilitate the release of a nun, the victim of a abduction in Africa”, but the judges concluded that such “does not correspond to the truth”.

After two years of trial, Cardinal Angelo Becciu was sentenced in 2023 to five and a half years in prison for embezzlement crimes and forbidden to hold public office for the rest of his life.