Italy is, together with Spain, one of the few large European countries in which up to now no commission has been created to investigate sexual abuse to minors committed by the Catholic Church. In fact, only at the end of this past January, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, has opened up to the possibility of setting up a body to investigate the cases that have been reported in the country. .
However, even before this body is constituted and begins to work, the announcement has caused controversy. The reason is that Bassetti has not openly endorsed creating a independent commission as has already happened in France or Germany, which has been interpreted as a sign that the Italian Church is considering investigating the complaints internally.
Cardinal Bassetti “seems to be concerned with conveying (the idea) that the Italian situation is different, exceptional and positive, and that the problem (in Italy) is less widespread and less widespread than in other places”, sociologist Marco Marzano: For Bassetti, “the thing to avoid above all is justicialism, that is, the tendency to condemn the clergy too harshly and too quickly,” Marzano added.
The issue of abuse has not been the subject of great journalistic investigations in Italy and often the ongoing trials against priests accused of abuse have had little repercussion in society, as if the subject were still a taboo.
However, in the last decade, various associations that also provide legal assistance to victims have been born or have expanded their initiatives, such as the association and Caramella Buona and Rete L’Abuso. This, given the inaction of the Italian Church, recently decided to promote – together with other NGOs – the creation of a coordination center called Italy Church Too (The Italian Church too), which asks that “go beyond the great silence & rdquor ;. IRENE SAVIO