Clergy told: Break culture of silence on sex abuse

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday asked members of the laity to break the “culture of silence” surrounding sexual abuses in the Church.

In an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas, CBCP vice president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David urged the faithful who have been victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy to speak out.

“That is why the laity should have access to their bishops and superiors. If there is really a need to correct the behavior of our priests, of course we have to distinguish what are the rumors that have no basis, from the true (incidents),” David said.

“If there are people who are in this kind of situation, please do not hesitate to talk directly to your bishops. Do not be quiet about it,” he added.

David said it might be embarrassing for a person to admit to have been a victim of sexual abuse by a priest because of stigma. But he still encouraged the victims to come out and speak.

“There are times (when) our silence is wrong. It may be embarrassing, this stigma when the person is abused, the level of aggravation is doubled because the person becomes shy. In reality, you should find people who would be willing to help you address the issue,” the bishop said.