Abuse, Jesuits: “Over 20 cases of victims of Father De Luca, we ask for forgiveness”

Rome, Jan. 29 (LaPresse) – “We ask for forgiveness. To those who have been hurt, to those who have spoken out and felt unheard, to those who have suffered in silence seeing their concerns minimized, we, the EUM Province of the Society of Jesus, humbly ask for forgiveness. It is with immense sorrow that we acknowledge that there have been serious shortcomings in the management and handling of reports. This painful awareness drives us to continue to act with greater strength and determination: the request for forgiveness is only the first step in a journey that must be undertaken together.“ This is stated in the final report on the Path of Truth, a journey that began after ”reports of sexual abuse of minors by Fr. Sauro De Luca,” who died in 2012. The text, published by the Jesuits, states that 60 people were interviewed, of whom “25 were victims of abuse (20 of whom by Fr. De Luca).” The text also mentions some of Fr. De Luca’s diaries, which “describe the abuse inflicted on about thirty women, some of whom were minors.” “During the listening phase,” the text continues, “it was learned that another Jesuit religious, as part of his assignment at Meg, had sexually abused five women. In this case, the new protocols adopted by the Province in 2015 allowed for a timely investigation and assessment by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which declared the facts to be time-barred.”