Articles
17 March 2023in Expresso
Divine justice and earthly justice
Child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
The consequences of the most serious forms of child sexual abuse can be up to 15 years in prison, which is almost as long as murder. The perpetrators of these offences are so censured that, even in prisons, they are ignored and abused by the inmate population.
Sexual abuse in the Church is particularly serious because it has been committed by someone who preaches the commandments of God's Law and is seen, especially by children, as someone who has the gift of distinguishing good from evil, the just from the unjust, of declaring war on sin. Regarding the sin of priests, St John Chrysostom says: "If you sin as a private individual, your punishment will be less; if you sin in the priesthood, you are lost". I believe that, in many cases, only divine justice can pass judgement on acts perpetrated years ago, even though they have not yet prescribed themselves in the light of earthly justice.
My professional experience of representing both defendants and victims tells me that the criminal investigation into this type of crime is based mainly on the victim's testimony, corroborated by a range of material evidence, such as sexual examinations to detect traces of injuries, documents and examinations of computer devices (mobile phones and computers). When the police are called in to investigate this type of offence, the crimes are often being committed or have just been committed, which means that the police usually have a wide range of evidence at their disposal that allows them to identify the perpetrators with certainty.
Years after the crime was committed, and in the absence of the defendant's confession, only the victims' testimonies remain. Although the vast majority of victims' statements convey the truth of the facts, the security of criminal justice places reservations on the sufficiency of a statement to convict a citizen.
Even if the judge is convinced of the credibility of a victim's testimony, experience tells us that there are often reasons to doubt its veracity. I remember representing a child in a sexual abuse case in which one of the parents was accused of very serious offences. The child underwent medico-legal expertise so that his version could be subjected to a validity test. The experts concluded that there were indicators of fantasy, lies and suggestions, and that the child's testimony lacked reliability and credibility.
This data calls for reflection on the advantages of extending the statute of limitations for offences of this nature. Anyone who hasn't filed a criminal complaint by the age of 23 is unlikely to want to revive an increasingly distant wound.
Society, through its institutions, has an obligation to play a preventive role, with mechanisms capable of detecting child abuse at an early stage. The penal system should only act reactively.
Article by: Carlos Melo Alves