DK calls for investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse allegations

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has called for a government commission of inquiry to be set up to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

DK deputy chief Ágnes Vadai told an online press conference that the committee should not limit its investigations to individual cases of sexual abuse, but should also strive to reveal “systemic shortcomings. Insisting that the Catholic Church, which she said was “linked to the Orbán government”, had made no attempt to investigate the allegations.

Vadai noted the zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse within the Catholic Church announced by Pope Francis in 2013. She also noted the 2019 Vatican sexual abuse summit which led the Catholic Church to ask to its episcopal conferences to draw up directives aimed at combating sexual abuse. abuse.

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Vadai said the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (MKPK), however, only issued one apology statement to victims of sexual abuse.

“This is an important first step, but an apology is only worth anything if it also promises that this kind of abuse will never happen to anyone again,” she said.

Vadai called for more open and honest communication and transparency in handling cases of sexual abuse in church. Ensuring that perpetrators are tried with the possibility of being sentenced to prison terms would go a long way in increasing victims’ confidence in the system, she added.

Featured Image via Tibor Illyés / MTI