By Mikhail Flores
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine priests accused of sex abuse remain in active ministry in the Catholic-majority country, a U.S.-based abuse tracking group said on Wednesday, urging the country’s bishops to take action and hold the alleged perpetrators accountable.
BishopAccountability.org, which tracks abuse in the Catholic Church, said 82 priests and brothers from the Philippines and some who served in the country for a period in their lives had been accused of sex abuse.
At least seven of the accused priests continue to serve in parishes across the archipelago, some as recently as last month, the group’s co-director Anne Barrett Doyle said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Philippine bishops have a “deep sense of entitlement” in withholding information on the abuse of priests in their diocese, she said.
“These are men who fear nothing”.
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Philippine bishops conference, the Church’s top policy body, said in a statement that it has put up an office headed by an archbishop and a team of bishops and experts to safeguard minors.
“Our mandate from Rome is to take the issue of accountability very seriously, especially those related to alleged abuse cases involving priests,” David said.
Individual bishops, David said, have authority over the accused priests. The papal nuncio – Pope Francis’ representative to the country – is usually the next level of authority to act on the complaints.
“As a conference of bishops, we merely build a consensus among ourselves about common policies to be adopted. Only Rome, represented by the Nuncio, has direct disciplinary authority over individual bishops,” he said.
The Pope’s nuncio to the Philippines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nearly 80% of the 109 million Filipinos identify as Catholic, the most populous in Asia due to the lasting legacy of Spanish colonisation for three centuries.
‘SMALL FRACTION’
Barrett Doyle also urged the government to prosecute the alleged offenders, saying none of those accused have been convicted for wrongdoing.
“Zero tolerance does not exist in the Philippine church,” she added.
The justice ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a public holiday in Manila.
The group said its first report involving the Philippines was far from exhaustive.
“We know from Catholic abuse data published elsewhere that such cases comprise a small fraction of the total scope of the problem,” the group said in its report.
Catholic institutions have significant cultural and social influence in the Philippines beyond parishes, including schools, hospitals, charities, and politics.
BishopAccountability.org’s data is based on news reports, court documents made public, church announcements and other public sources such as social media posts of local parishes.
For decades, sex abuse scandals have shaken the Catholic Church across the world. Paedophile priests and efforts to cover up their crimes have damaged its credibility and cost hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.
A Vatican child protection commission said in a report last year that the Church must do a better job of handling compensation for victims of clergy abuse, including a broader spectrum of actions that include acknowledging mistakes and public apologies. Critics have also said the Church must do more.
BishopAccountability.org has previously published similar databases for the United States, Argentina, Chile and Ireland.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores)
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