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, May 13,
on pedophilia and drug 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 O.K. Look for
needy boys who have family issues," he allegedly said.
Genoa Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is the 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 that when he met the Pope this weekend, he "asked for a
particular blessing for my archdiocese" in light of the alleged 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, May 14, the Cardinal 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 tapped phone
conversations the two cursed and swore against God. The priest is
charged with having attempted to kiss and touch an underage altar boy
and of having exchanged cocaine for sexual intercourse with boys 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, May 16, during 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 the defense wants to evaluate all the charges, reserving the right
to respond to public prosecutor Stefano Puppo in the coming days.
Questioned by the investigators, the altar boy 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 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," says his
lawyer. The investigation is ongoing.