South African church keeps some abuse claims private
By Rena Singer, Globe Correspondent, 5/17/2002
The letter states that church officials will not report accusations against
priests to the police. Under the policy, which already is in use, church
officials instead will launch an internal investigation. The letter was written by Cardinal Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban, president of
the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, and was addressed to the
estimated 3.7 million Catholics in South Africa, Swaziland, and Botswana. ''We're not trying to cover things up,'' said Bishop Michael Coleman of Port
Elizabeth, vice chairman of the bishops' conference. ''We want victims cared
for, and we want justice done. But there is a perceived degree of corruption
among the police, so we believe the victim should decide whether or not to
report the matter to the police.'' The church's policy has been in place for several years but is becoming
public now because of heightened awareness of the subject as a result of the
sexual abuse allegations involving priests in the United States. The policy also
is coming under more scrutiny from government officials, who argue that all
abuse cases should be reported to authorities. ''The law is very clear that they have a responsibility to report these
things to the police,'' said David Porogo, chief director of communications for
the Ministry of Justice. South African law obliges anyone who ''treats, attends to, instructs, cares
for, or advises'' a child to report suspected abuse to authorities. However, the law does not provide a penalty for violators, so it is unclear
what action the government can take against church leaders who do not report
abusive priests. ''This is a loophole in the law,'' said Tertius Geldenhuys, South Africa's
assistant commissioner of police services. ''It is an oversight that will be
immediately addressed.'' The church's policy also states that within two days of receiving an
allegation, a report will be issued to a supervisor and that the victim and the
alleged perpetrator will be offered counseling. Priests found guilty of
misconduct will be sent for treatment and may be reintroduced to the ministry in
a limited capacity after counseling. Leaders of women's and children's rights groups were critical of the church's
policy. ''The church is treating the rape of children like an internal
discipline problem,'' said Krystyna Smith of the Rape Action Group. Her organization has called on the South African Law Commission, which is now
finalizing a new sexual offenses law, to single out the church to ensure that it
does not neglect its responsibility to report crimes against children. The new legislation would include a specific penalty for those who fail to
report accusations, officials say. Meanwhile, the government hopes to shame the
church into obeying the law. ''It is in the interests of the church to do this, to not be seen as sweeping
these things under the carpet,'' Porogo said. ''The church will be in trouble,
its image will be tainted, if it doesn't work with us.'' There has been no sexual abuse scandal here, and pedophilia is not seen as a
problem in the South African clergy. Church officials say they are aware of
about 12 priests who have committed sexual misconduct in Southern Africa in the
last decade. However, church leaders have kept no central registry of such
crimes. Napier's letter to parishioners is both conciliatory and defensive. ''Child abuse by church personnel is seen by us as `a sign of the times'
through which the Lord speaks to us,'' Napier wrote. ''We hear him crying out:
`Repent, my friends.'''