【 以下文字转载自 Military 讨论区 】
发信人: Wolbachia (爱其死以有待也,惜其生以有为也), 信区: Military
标 题: 教皇的恋童癖事物顾问因涉嫌恋童癖被捕
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Fri May 27 19:31:56 2011, 美东)
(GENOA) — The latest sex-abuse case to rock the Catholic Church is
unfolding in the archdiocese of an influential Italian Cardinal who has
been working with Pope Benedict XVI on reforms to respond to prior
scandals of pedophile priests.
Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of
Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, on
pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-
phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange
sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. "I do not want 16-
year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy
boys who have family issues," he allegedly said. Genoa Archbishop Angelo
Bagnasco, who is the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, had been
working with Benedict to establish a tough new worldwide policy,
released this week, on how bishops should handle accusations of priestly
sex abuse.
(Read "Vatican Gets Tough on Child Abuse but Not Tough Enough.)
Bagnasco said that when he met the Pope this weekend, he "asked for a
particular blessing for my archdiocese" in light of the alleged crimes,
adding that "like every father toward a son [feels] great pain in seeing
a priest who is not faithful to his vocation."
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi praised Bagnasco's handling
of the Sastri Ponente case, lauding its "timeliness and competence." On
Saturday, May 14, the Cardinal visited the Santo Spirito church, where
Seppia was the parish priest.
According to investigators, Seppia told a friend — a former seminarian
and barman who is currently under investigation — that the town's malls
were the best places to entice minors. In tapped phone conversations the
two cursed and swore against God. The priest is charged with having
attempted to kiss and touch an underage altar boy and of having
exchanged cocaine for sexual intercourse with boys over 18.
(See inside Benedict XVI's daily life.)
Seppia's defense lawyers are expected to argue that those conversations
— monitored since Oct. 20, 2010 — were just words, sex games that were
played by adults. It was just a game even when he claimed to have
"kissed on the mouth" a 15-year-old altar boy, according to the defense.
On Monday, May 16, during formal questioning by Genoa's investigating
magistrate Annalisa Giacalone, Seppia chose not to respond. The
magistrate decided to keep him in custody to avoid a risk of relapse or
tampering with evidence. Defense attorney Paolo Bonanni said the defense
wants to evaluate all the charges, reserving the right to respond to
public prosecutor Stefano Puppo in the coming days.
Questioned by the investigators, the altar boy reportedly confirmed the
attempted kiss. Another male minor who, according to the investigators,
was stalked with messages and pressing invitations, will be questioned
soon. Psychologists are helping Carabinieri police officers obtain
testimony from the alleged victims. "The boys are ashamed to talk and to
admit what happened," says one of the investigators. The evidence
amounts to at least 50 messages and phone calls. In the tapped phone
conversations, the drug dealer contacted the boys and gave their phone
numbers to the priest, who paid them with cocaine or 50 euros each time
for sexual intercourse.
(Read "Controversial Study Links Catholic Abuse to '60s Culture and
Church Hierarchy but Offers Few Solutions.")
"[The investigators] made us listen to that man saying terrifying things
about our children. Things so terrible that I cannot repeat them," a
father of one of the boys said.
Investigators are also examining three confiscated computers: the priest
allegedly looked for partners via chat as well.
Seppia is currently being kept in a confinement cell in a Genoa prison.
He met the jail's priest and psychologist. "He has read the newspapers,
and he is pained by his parishioners' comments," says his lawyer. The
investigation is ongoing.