The latest sex abuse case to rock the Catholic
Church is unfolding in the archdiocese of an influential Italian
Cardinal, who has been working with Pope Benedict XVI on reforms to
respond to prior scandals of pedophile priests.
Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51 year-old parish priest
in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday
on pedophilia and drugs charges.
Investigators say that in tapped
mobile phone conversations Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to
arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys.
“I do not want
16-year-old boys, but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are OK. Look for
needy boys, who have family issues,” he allegedly said.
Genoa Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is also head
of the Italian Bishops Conference, had been working with Benedict to
establish a tough new worldwide policy released this week on how bishops
should handle accusations of priestly sex abuse.
Bagnasco said when he met the Pope this weekend he
“asked for a particular blessing for my archdiocese,” in light of the
accused crimes, adding that “like every father toward a son (feels)
great pain in seeing a priest who is not faithful to his vocation.”
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi praised
Bagnasco’s handling of the Sastri Ponente case, lauding its “timeliness
and competence.”
On Saturday, the Cardinal also visited the Santo
Spirito Church where Seppia was the parish priest.
According to investigators, Seppia told a friend --
a former seminarian and barman who is currently under investigation --
that the town’s malls were the best places to entice minors.
In the
tapped phone conversations they cursed and swore against God.
The priest
is charged with having attempted to kiss and touch an under-age altar
boy, and of having exchanged cocaine for sexual intercourse with boys
who were over 18.
Seppia’s defense lawyers are expected to argue that
those conversations – monitored since Oct. 20, 2010 – were just words,
sex games that were played by adults.
It was just a game even when he
claimed to have “kissed on the mouth” a 15-year-old altar boy, according
to the defense.
On Monday, during the formal questioning by Genoa's
Investigating Magistrate Annalisa Giacalone, Seppia chose not to
respond.
The magistrate decided to keep him in custody to avoid a risk
of relapse or tampering with evidence.
Defense attorney Paolo Bonanni
said that they want to evaluate all the charges, reserving the right to
respond to the Public Prosecutor Stefano Puppo in the coming days.
Questioned by the investigators, the altar boy has
reportedly confirmed the attempted kiss.
Another male minor who,
according to the investigators, was stalked with messages and pressing
invitations, will be questioned soon.
Psychologists are helping the
Carabinieri police officers obtain testimony from the alleged victims.
“The boys are ashamed to talk and to admit what happened,” says one of
the investigators.
The evidence amounts to at least 50 messages and
phone calls.
In the tapped phone conversations, the drug dealer
contacted the boys and gave their phone numbers to the priest, who paid
them with cocaine or 50 euros each time for sexual intercourse.
“[The investigators] made us listen to that man
saying terrifying things about our children.
Things so terrible that I
cannot repeat them,” a father of one of the boys said.
Investigators are also examining three confiscated computers.
The priest allegedly looked for partners via chat as well.
Seppia is currently being kept in a confinement
cell, in a Genoa prison. He met the jail’s priest and psychologist.
“He
has read the newspapers, and he is pained by his parishioners’
comments,” said his lawyer.
The investigation is ongoing.