Sexual, psychological and bodily violence has taken place in a number of international locations throughout the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X, Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported Saturday after a months-long investigation into the breakaway Catholic group.
The society “cannot escape accusations of control, sexual violence and a cult of secrecy”, the newspaper wrote, with one sufferer assist group reporting round 60 “problematic priests”.
The Society of Saint Pius X is a bunch of fundamentalist Catholics that strongly opposes the liberal reforms of the Catholic Church imposed by the Vatican II Council within the Nineteen Sixties.
The society says it’s current in additional than 60 international locations throughout six continents, with 590 clergymen and almost half one million trustworthy.
Le Temps devoted the primary six pages of its Saturday version to its investigation.
It mentioned its reporters had been given greater than 20 inner paperwork, together with letters signed by prime officers and extracts from inner investigations.
“Our analysis shows that the violence took place in all four corners of Europe and the world, from the foundation — or thereabouts — of the fraternity and until 2020,” it mentioned.
The violence was “sexual, but also psychological and physical”.
The brotherhood was based by the controversial French bishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970. Its headquarters are in Switzerland exterior Menzingen, a village within the Zug canton south of Zurich.
Le Temps mentioned the society has 160 priories and 120 faculties positioned world wide.
It spoke to oldsters, abused former pupils and sufferer assist teams in France, Belgium and Switzerland and recounted courtroom circumstances the place perpetrators had been sentenced.
“The fraternity has certainly sought to protect potential new victims by incapacitating its priests. But it also did it to protect itself, according to the vast majority of our witnesses,” the newspaper mentioned.
“Their functioning in a vacuum even tends in their favour, and the institution would do everything to protect the firm.”
Le Temps mentioned the society refused to reply its questions, because it does with all media queries as regards to clerical abuse.
Francois de Riedmatten, 41, from Sion in Valais, southwest Switzerland, grew up within the society.
The beatings began for him at Fleurs de Mai, the fraternity’s main faculty in central Valais, he mentioned.
“We were beaten in front of others, with sticks and with our trousers down,” he recalled.
Aged eight, he was then despatched to the fraternity’s La Peraudiere boarding faculty in France.
He instructed the paper of abuse by a lay supervisor, recounting sexual assaults after showering. Furthermore, “he would beat the hell out of me and give me kisses straight afterwards”.
With the statute of limitations ruling out any authorized recourse, De Riedmatten drove to La Peraudiere in 2015 to confront his “sadistic” supervisor.
“I calmly told him that his life must have been horrible to have caused so much harm. I felt that the shame had changed sides,” he mentioned.
Contacted by Le Temps, La Peraudiere’s present director mentioned he was “stunned and revolted” by the testimony and indicated that the alleged abuser was now not on the employees.
In an e-mail, during which the society mentioned it might not reply to Le Temps’ queries, the society mentioned that “in these significantly painful circumstances, the first concern of the brotherhood is for the victims.
“It offers them assistance by supporting them, encouraging them to file complaints with the judicial authorities, guiding them through legal procedures, and supporting them in their rebuilding, as far as possible.”
Following the story, the Valais cantonal authorities are set to research the Fleurs de Mai faculty.
“The goal is to examine the situation today to see if unspeakable practices are still taking place,” Valais councillor Christophe Darbellay instructed the nationwide broadcaster RTS.
The schooling division chief is to go to the varsity on Monday, accompanied by two inspectors.
“We will first demand good practices in terms of education and teaching… but it is difficult to prejudge what we are going to do,” Darbellay mentioned.
Source: www.anews.com.tr