In 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that it would not lift the statute of limitations in the case of Father Valentino Salvoldi, an 80‑year‑old priest from the Diocese of Bergamo, accused by at least 21 males of sexual abuse allegedly committed during youth camps he organized in Italy in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The decision closed canonical proceedings following the 2024 dismissal of the parallel criminal case by the public prosecutor’s office in Udine on the grounds that the alleged offences were time‑barred.
“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has saved the ‘beggar of love’ … despite dozens of testimonies of sexual abuse against him,” the Italian journalist Federica Tourn comments bitterly in her article: “The Vatican’s Turning Point: Covering Up Pedophile Priests with a Statute of Limitations.”
Salvoldi has, to date, not been sanctioned by the Holy See either for the allegations of psycho‑physical abuse – marked by dynamics similar to cult‑like practices – or for the heterodox positions he has explicitly defended and disseminated through a series of books published by major Italian publishing houses.
The dicastery’s official announcement regarding the dismissal of the complaints did not clarify whether any changes were made to the priest’s numerous formative roles.
The Italian priest, whose past remains vague, presented himself publicly as a charismatic preacher who sought to reinterpret Christian spirituality through strong emphasis on emotional and bodily experiences and physical affection. He frequently described himself as a “beggar for love” and criticized what he considered excessive “rigidity within the Church.”
Ordained in 1970, Salvoldi spent much of his ministry outside the territorial structures of the Diocese of Bergamo, working as a missionary priest in several African countries.
Over the years, citing one of his mentors, the theologian Bernhard Häring, a leading proponent of the personalist renewal of 20th century Catholic moral theology, Salvoldi has sharply criticized “the old Catholic morality,” which he describes as “centered on Rome and on sin,” proposing instead an approach focused “on the Holy Spirit and on divine mercy.”
He has emphasized in particular the need to move beyond traditional sexual morality in order to “overcome legalism and perfectionism,” which he considers to be plagues within the Church. These ideas took shape in summer camps organized in Italy.
“Pope Francis introduces us to this choice and to this language,” the priest wrote in one of his books. “His distancing himself from a morality obsessed with sexual ethics is admirable.”
The accusations emerged publicly in October 2023, when the Italian association of abuse survivors Rete L’Abuso submitted a formal complaint to prosecutors in Bergamo, Italy, concerning alleged criminal conduct involving around ten individuals.
Two alleged victims, who were minors at the time of the events, later spoke to the Italian newspaper Domani, describing episodes of “physical and psychological abuse,” including unwanted kissing and physical contact during youth camps organized by the priest in the 1990s.
In subsequent months, other former participants came forward. Some described recurring patterns of behavior during camps for teenagers and young adults presented as expressions of spiritual closeness, including prolonged kisses on the mouth, invitations to share a bed, and collective bathing where physical contact was encouraged.
Another witness described evening rituals during camps in which the priest allegedly kissed adolescents seated on his lap. The material collected by the group was transmitted both to civil authorities and to the Diocese of Bergamo.
Despite the number of accusations, the criminal investigation did not lead to a trial. On September 3, 2024, the tribunal in Udine decided to archive the case because the alleged offenses were “outside the legal time limit for prosecution” under Italian law.
The canonical process followed a similar path. Although Church law allows to waive the statute if limitations in cases of serious offenses (cf. Can. 1362 § 1), the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith decided not to exercise that faculty. The decision, confirmed in 2025, effectively ended ecclesiastical proceedings without any trial or disciplinary sanction.
As a result, the case concluded without judicial evaluation of the accusations in either civil or ecclesiastical courts.