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From the NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER

http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word112505.htm

Another disedifying chapter in the sexual abuse crisis opened last week, with revelations in a Brazilian newsmagazine called Istoè that four Brazilian priests in recent months have been charged with abuse of minors; three have been criminally convicted, while a fourth was arrested in November in a hotel room in Northeastern Brazil with four young boys. In that case, the priest has denied charges of molestation.

Istoè stated that 10 Brazilian priests are currently behind bars for abuse of minors, with another 40 missing.

The magazine also reported that in at least two instances, priests eventually convicted of sexual abuse had previously been transferred from one assignment to another after initial complaints surfaced. According to the same report, one emeritus bishop has been accused of sexual misconduct by a young priest whom he ordained.

The leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera suggested that the reports show sexual abuse by priests is not a uniquely American phenomenon.

Perhaps the most spectacular finding is that two priests already convicted of abuse left diaries of their experiences.

Fr. Tarcisio Tadeu Spricigo, 48, convicted in 2003 of the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old boy, listed 10 guidelines for identifying potential victims. They included:

1. “Age: 7, 8, 9 or 10”
2. “Sex: Male”
3. “Social condition: poor”
4. “Family condition: preferably a boy without a father, living with a single mother or a sister”
5. “Where to find him: in the streets, in schools or in families”
6. “How to lure him: guitar lessons, or service as an altar boy or girl”
7. “Very important to keep the family at a distance”
8. “Possibilities: an affectionate young man, calm, without inhibitions, missing a father, without moralisms”
9. “Find out what pleases the young man and, departing from that premise, lead him to give everything to me”
10. “How to present yourself: always certain, serious, dominating, like a father, never ask questions, always have certainties”

The diary, according to the Istoè report, came to light after Spricigo accidentally gave it to a religious sister, who turned it over to police.

Likewise, Fr. Alfieri Edoardo Bompani, 45, was convicted of abuse in 2004 and sentenced to 93 years in jail, considered a symbolic gesture since the maximum sentence under Brazilian law is 30 years. Quotes from his diary provided in the Istoè account include lurid, and sometimes repugnant, sexual details.

Finally, the magazine also reported that Pope Benedict XVI sent a commission to Brazil in September to investigate the reports of abuse. That aspect of the story, however, cannot be confirmed.

The logical Vatican agency to have impaneled the commission would be the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which has responsibility for cases of sexual abuse of minors by priests under a February 2001 ruling from Pope John Paul II. A Vatican source told NCR on Nov. 21, however, that the congregation was not aware of any commission sent to Brazil.

A spokesperson for the Brazilian bishops’ conference told NCR Nov. 21 that the conference was also not aware of any such commission.