THE VICTIMS are “discarded” by the abusive priest and by an uncaring bishop or adult. Not only are these children damaged for life, but so are the abuser, his bishop and the church. The people’s trust in and respect for the clergy are shattered, and the church’s credibility is lost forever.
Ignoring the victims or even blaming them also damages the credibility of and trust in the church and in all the thousands of good, honest, dedicated clergymen and religious. They, too, are made to suffer the shame that the truth about clerical abuse and its coverup reveals.
History has shown that the day of truth will come, as it has to many others, to a church that has covered up and protected abusers and failed the children they victimized. The longer pedophile priests are tolerated, coddled and protected; the more children are raped and abused and left without help.
The United Nations Children’s Fund said in a report titled “Situation Analysis of Children in the Philippines” that 8 in 10 children experienced some form of violence, including physical, psychological, sexual or online abuse. It also said one child in every four experienced sexual abuse and violence.
There is this cruel tendency of adults not to believe children who report abuse and then blame them or accuse them of lying. Many are told to shut up and not complain. They are sometimes even told to forgive their abusers, be it a priest, their own father or a relative, and endure the abuse as a sacrifice to God. If abused by a priest, all the more, they are threatened and silenced.
There is a Catholic priest now in jail in Cagayan who had recorded on video his repeated sexual assault and rape of a 15-year-old girl. He had threatened that if she complained or told anyone, he would show the videos to her classmates and parents and post them online. He admitted to all his crimes but said it was consensual.
A diocesan priest offered the parents and child a college scholarship to drop the case. She refused, and the case is still ongoing after three years.
This is one child’s fight for justice with overwhelming evidence that will make history in the country if there is a conviction. It will be appealed, though, which will be another challenge for a very brave girl who suffered and overcame the humiliation and hurt the abuse caused her. She is now an empowered young person seeking justice. It is justice yet to come from the nation, from the church and the jailed priest now on trial.
This is one child’s struggle for justice that will never go away or be forgotten. It will haunt the judiciary, the nation and the Catholic Church if justice is not done./PN
