115 Clerical Abuse Victims in Italy in 2023-24 Says CEI
Rome: The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) released its third report on clerical sex abuse, revealing that there were 115 alleged victims in Italy between 2023 and 2024. The report disclosed that among these victims, 64 were males and 51 were females.
According to Ansa News Agency, the report also highlighted that there were 69 cases of alleged abuse during the same period. Of these, 27 incidents reportedly took place within parish settings. The alleged perpetrators, totaling 67, were predominantly clerics. There was a noted increase in cases, rising from 32 to 37 between 2023 and 2024. Additionally, instances of alleged “spiritual and conscience abuses” increased from 4 to 17 cases.
The data were unveiled during an event titled “Protect, prevent, train. The territorial network for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults,” organized by the National Service for the protection of minors and vulnerable people of the Italian Episcopal Conference. This event presented findings from the Third Territorial Survey, which analyzed activities of Regional and diocesan/interdiocesan Services and Listening Centers over the 2023-2024 period.
The analysis indicated a rise in reported abuse cases, with specific attention to various types and locations of abuse. The report noted that parishes emerged as the most common settings for reported abuse. The most affected age group among alleged victims was 10-14 years, comprising 31.3% of the cases. The majority of the alleged abusers were clerics, with 44 out of 67 identified as such, and nearly all were male, with 65 out of 67 being men. A comparison with previous investigations showed an increase in the average age of alleged perpetrators, climbing from 43 years in 2022 to 50 years in 2023-2024.
Regarding lay individuals, the report detailed their roles at the time of the report, which included positions such as catechist/educator (4), volunteer (3), collaborator (2), religion teacher (1), seminarian (1), and sacristan.