The Curia said today that its Response team had so far found that 19 child abuse allegations against priests had no basis while there was a basis in the allegations made against 13 priests. Another 13 cases were pending.
In a statement, the Curia said it wished to clarify a statement it itself issued some days ago.
It said that the 45 child abuse cases it had mentioned were the number of allegations made to the Response Team since it was set up in 1999, but some of the allegations involved cases which even went back to the 1970s.
The Curia said that in the cases where it was found that there was basis for the allegations, four of the priests were, according to procedure, referred to the Holy See. They were found guilty and punished according to the nature of their case. The punishment varied from removal from the priesthood to limitation of pastoral work, such that the priests were placed under supervision and could not have contact with minors.
Three other priests still had cases pending before the Tribunal set up by the Holy See, while the cases of another four, recently investigated in Malta, still had to be moved before the Holy See. The remaining two priests had passed away.
"The Church takes these cases seriously and even though both Civil Law and Canon Law provide a period of prescription in criminal cases, the Tribunal of the Church waive this prescription in cases of child abuse and cases continue to be prosecuted, however long ago they might have taken place. In all cases, the children concerned are informed that despite making their allegations to the Church, they retain the right to report their case to the civil authorities."
"For the Church, even one such case is one too many," the Curia said.
It reiterated the appeal made by the bishops, for the faithful to cooperate with the authorities, including the civil authorities, in such cases.
As had been declared since 1999, the faithful had a duty to cooperate with the Church to cleanse it of this wound, rather than try to hide it through silence, the Curia said.