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| Horror scene from The Stoning of Soraya M |
Wijeysingha narrates, for the first time, of how he was abused by a Catholic priest. When he was 15, we are told, "I came into unfortunate contact with a priest who would engage me in play wrestling and attempt to touch my crotch in the process. He once brought me into his bedroom and took a stack of pornographic magazines from his wardrobe to show me."
"I haven't till now disclosed this sorry incident publicly. It never seemed momentous and, so far, as I'm aware, it didn't damage me. But Archbishop William Goh's pronouncements this weekend prompted me to." The Archbishop had pronounced earlier that the church does not condone relationships which "are not in accordance to the plan of God".
It was the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of sexual abuse cases involving Catholic priests that first drew the attention of the United States, and then ultimately the world, to the abuse of God's plan. Victims soon came forward with their own horrific tales of abuse, resulting in lawsuits and criminal cases. ("Scores of priests involved in sex abuse cases", Walter V. Robinson et al, January 31, 2002)
In February 2011, two German lawyers initiated charges against Pope Benedict XVI at the International Criminal Court. As one of the reasons for the charges they referred also to the "strong suspicion" that Joseph Ratzinger, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, covered up the sexual abuse of children and youths and protected the perpetrators.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in early 2014, issued a report and minced no words:
"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators."
Religion is one of the taboo subjects in our multi-racial society, so it is unlikely the Attorney General's Chambers will want to wade into these waters. After all, who without sin has the cheek to hurl the first stone?