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Pakistani Christian girl abducted and forcibly converted to Islam, now pregnant and confined to one room due to sexual assault by abductor Abdul

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani Christian girl abducted and forcibly converted to Islam, now pregnant and confined to one room due to sexual assault by abductor Abdul

Huma Younus, a Christian girl who was kidnapped from her home in Karachi on October 10 last year, has become pregnant due to the incessant sexual violence perpetrated by her abductor Abdul Jabbar, reported ACT International. As per the report, she has been confined to the four walls of one room in the abductor’s house. Younus is not allowed to leave that house or return to her parents.

Following her abduction, she was reportedly taken to Dera Ghazi Khan, a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan, about 600 Kms from her home. A few days after her conversion, the family of the girl had received conversion papers and a marriage certificate. However, her mother Nagina Younas had claimed that the papers were fake, as it took several hours to reach where she was taken but the date of conversion on the papers was the same as the day of her abduction.

Abdul has a brother named Mukhtiar who is a Ranger, a security force personnel. The latter has reportedly threatened to murder the parents of Younus if they came to look for their daughter. As per the report, the threats have been made over phone calls. Mukhtiar has also sent pictures of lethal weapons in a bid to intimidate the parents of the victim and warned that Younus will not return back even if all Christians in Pakistan demand for it. Moreover, he cautioned the parents that anyone who comes in his way will be killed.

As per the report, the case has been closed by the Judicial Magistrate (Karachi East), citing a lack of proof. Moreover, the High Court of Sindh is currently non-operational owing to the Coronavirus pandemic and reports suggest that the Court will reopen by August. Following an appeal to the same Judicial Magistrate for a re-examination of documents, the magistrate has asked NADRA, the public records authority, to produce her the victim’s birth certificate.

Case may be shelved indefinitely, fears victim’s parents

This is despite the fact that two official documents, namely, a statement by her school and a certificate of baptism from the Catholic parish of Saint James, Karachi, confirm her date of birth as May 22, 2005. The last hearing in the case took place on July 13. The parents of Younus fear that the girl will turn 18 in the following 3 years, post which the case may remain hung forever.

Reportedly, the lawyer representing Abdul in court has been employing every legal trick in the book to delay the case. As per the report, crimes against religious minorities in Pakistan are not addressed immediately or on a priority basis. Due to the lack of judicial autonomy in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, fast-tracking of the case of Huma Younus is not possible.

Pakistani Judiciary prejudiced against religious minorities

“According to my reading and based on experience, there are around 2000 such cases (of abduction) per year, whether reported or not. Justice delayed is justice denied, hence every delay in reaching judgement on the defence of the rights of religious minorities represents a denial of these rights.,” conceded Tabassum Yousaf. 

She has accused the judicial system of being prejudiced against the Huma Younus due to her Faith. Yousaf emphasised that the authorities will ‘act immediately’ if such a thing is to happen to a Muslim girl. She is hopeful that the President of the Pakistan Supreme Court will intervene and grant justice in the case. She regretted that seeking justice at any other level of the judicial hierarchy will not be possible at any other level.

Sindh court rules in favour of the abductor in the Huma Younus case

In Pakistan, the Sindh court dismissed a petition to overturn a forced marriage and conversion of Huma Younus, a 14-year-old Christian girl from Karachi. The court stated that the marriage to her captor, Abdul Jabbar is valid under Islamic law since a girl can marry after she has had her first period.

Huma’s parents have been saying that the marriage is invalid, as the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act forbids marriage under the age of 18. But the judges, Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Irshad Ali Shah ruled that as per Sharia law, even if Huma was a minor, the marriage between her and her abductor Abdul Jabbar would be valid as she had already had her first menstrual cycle.

Retiring Judge Banumathi reveals how she believes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ despite being a ‘Hindu’

OpIndia Staff
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Retiring Judge Banumathi reveals how she believes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ despite being a ‘Hindu’

Justice R Banumathi, who was the first woman from the State of Tamil Nadu to be elevated to the position of a Judge in the Supreme Court, is all set to retire on July 19. During her farewell speech on Friday, she revealed her Faith in Jesus Christ despite being born a Hindu. “Though I am a Hindu, I believe in the gospel of Jesus. By the Grace of Jesus, I got educated and came up in life,” she was quoted as saying.

Justice Banumathi further also emphasised on the challenges faced by her in her career in the Indian judiciary and how Jesus Christ helped her get past all obstacles in life. She stated, “During my judicial service, there were mountains of obstacles for no reason. Yet no human hand could prevent what Jesus Christ has ordained for me in my life.”

Justice Banumathi: First woman from Tamil Nadu in Supreme Court

Justice Banumathi has served 6 years in the apex court, following her appointment in August 2014. The said judge is also the 6th woman to ever grace the apex court.

Reportedly, she joined the Tamil Nadu Higher Judicial service in 1988 at the age of 33 and served for over 3 decades. She was elevated as a Judge in the Madras High Court, before being made the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court in 2013. On her farewell, Attorney General K K Venugopal hailed her retirement as a ‘sad day’ and wished that she joins the legal profession soon.

Man who tonsured head of a Nepali in Varanasi turns out to be associated with Shiv Sena, calls himself a ‘disciple of Bala Saheb’

OpIndia Staff
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Man who tonsured head of a Nepali in Varanasi turns out to be associated with Shiv Sena, calls himself a ‘disciple of Bala Saheb’

On Friday, a Nepali man was tonsured and forced to shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Nepal PM Murdabad’ days after Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli stoked a huge political and diplomatic storm after claiming that Lord Rama was born in Nepal. The video of the incident was widely circulated on social media after a person named Arun Pathak, recorded and shared it on his Facebook profile. It is reported that Pathak was behind the shocking incident.

In the video, an unidentified man was seen sitting without any clothes on the upper part of his body near a river in Varanasi. A mob led by Pathak confronted him on the banks of the river and made him shout slogans against PM Oli and Nepal. While shaving his head, he was made to praise India for providing Nepalis livelihood opportunities.

Following the incident, various media reports suggested that Arun Pathak, the main culprit behind the attack on Nepali citizen belonged to a fringe right-wing group, to allege that it was Hindu groups who had forced the Nepali citizen to shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

NDTV report stating that the man belonged to a right-wing group

The Hindu, in its report, stated that the Nepali citizen was attacked by a fringe group led by Arun Pathak. They even went on to say that Arun Pathak was the convenor of Vishwa Hindu Sena.

However, when we looked into the Facebook profile, it was revealed that Arun Pathak belonged to Shiv Sena, currently the ‘secular’ alliance partner of Congress party in Maharashtra. In his Facebook profile, one can see that he describes himself as a “disciple of Bala Saheb Thackeray”.

Image Source: Facebook

In another image, the accused Arun Pathak was also seen with Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena. Arun Pathak was also the district chief of Shiv Sena in Varanasi from 2000 to 2003. He is the chief general secretary and spokesperson of Shiv Sena in Uttar Pradesh state.

Image source: Arun Pathak’s Facebook Account
Image source: Arun Pathak’s Facebook Account

Interestingly, Arun Pathak is not new to vandalism. In 2016, Arun Pathak had also led a protest against the musical concert of Pakistani Ghazal virtuoso Ghulam Ali at Varanasi. Shiv Sena leader Arun Pathak was forefront at opposing Ghulam Ali’s concert and had posted several posters against the event at Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi.

However, the media conveniently ignored Pathak’s links with Shiv Sena and accused him of belonging to some other Hindu outfits.

Meanwhile, following the attack on Nepali citizen by Shiv Sena leader Pathak and his mob, the Varanasi police have registered an FIR against the accused under IPC Sections 505 (2) and 295 and Section 67 of the IT Act at the Bhelupur police station.

Rajasthan: Complaint filed against Congress leaders says that plan to falsely accuse Union Minister with audiotape hatched at CM Gehlot’s residence

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Complaint filed against Congress leaders says that plan to falsely accuse Union Minister with audiotape hatched at CM Gehlot’s residence

Hours after a complaint was filed against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for conspiring to pull down its government in Rajasthan, a complaint has been filed against Congress leaders by a BJP leader for making false accusations against the union minister.

According to reports, BJP leader Laxmikant Bhardwaj has registered a complaint against Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Govind Singh Dotasra for levelling allegations against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and linking him with an alleged audio clip, in which a conspiracy was allegedly hatched to topple the elected government led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan.

On Friday, the Congress party citing a ‘viral’ audio recording, had claimed that there was an ongoing conspiracy to ‘buy’ Congress MLAs. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had alleged that rebel Congress leader Bhanwar Lal, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and another BJP leader Sanjay Jain were talking about bringing the Gehlot government down.

On the basis of some ‘leaked’ and ‘viral’ audio clips, Surjewala had claimed that Shekhawat was plotting with some Congress MLAs to get them to the BJP side. Later, two FIRs were filed against the BJP leaders after Congress came out with the allegations.

Conspiracy to blame BJP was hatched in CM’s residence: BJP leader about allegations by Congress leaders in Rajasthan

In the complaint letter written to the SHO of Ashok Nagar police station, BJP Rajasthan spokesperson Laxmikant Bhardwaj said that Congress leaders Mahesh Joshi, Randeep Surjewala, and other accused have regularly been giving false and inflammatory statements against the BJP to criminally damage its reputation so that the blame for the current sorry state of affairs of the Congress can be pinned on the BJP.

With the ill-intention of damaging the BJP’s reputation, a conspiracy was formed at the Chief Minister’s residence situated at 8 Civil lines, the complaint read.

“The fake voices of people were falsely linked to the reputed leaders from the BJP and a fake phone conversation was created through which the false narrative of crores of rupees being offered to buy off Congress MLAs was created. The accused involved in this conspiracy have severely misused their position and power and the whole crime has been conducted by one named Lokesh Sharma, who calls himself an OSD of the Chief Minister,” the letter further said.

The complaint letter further said that Lokesh Sharma, who claims to be an OSD to Chief Minister Gehlot, had “released three audio tapes to media workers on July 16, 2020, somewhere around 8:25 pm through Whatsapp so that the defamatory material can be circulated on a large scale to fulfil the criminal intent.”

The BJP leader also said that a news report in the Jaipur edition of a leading Hindi daily, published on July 17, 2020, had conveyed that the audiotape was released by Sharma.

He further said that in a press conference held on Friday Congress leaders Surjewala and Dotasra read out the conversation in the audio tapes publically and “using them as a basis accused the BJP of throttling democracy, sabotaging the mandate, and toppling the government.”

Bhardwaj also alleged that hateful and insulting comments are being made on the BJP and its supporters, and “on the basis of this the Special Operation Group (SOG) has filed fake lawsuits under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and is also threatening BJP leaders of the arrest.”

The audio recordings

A media report had claimed earlier that 3 audio recordings, allegedly phone conversations between Sanjay Jain and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat where they were reportedly claiming that the “deal” for 30 MLAs is already done and was finalised in Delhi.

The reports, without confirming the authenticity or date of recording of the audios, had stated that the said audios, two in Rajasthani and one in Hindi and English. In the said audios, one person is reportedly heard saying that 30 Congress MLAs will be ‘bought’ soon. The conversation also hints that some of their associates were already in Delhi.

In the audio, the person claiming to be Gajendra Singh says that no one can wait for 8-10 days. The audio ‘talk’ also allegedly claims that the ‘associates’ in Delhi have already taken the first instalment of the money.

Human trial of coronavirus vaccine COVAXIN begins, no adverse effects reported on the subjects so far: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij

OpIndia Staff
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Human trial of coronavirus vaccine COVAXIN begins, no adverse effects reported on the subjects so far: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij

The human trials of the coronavirus vaccine COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech, have begun at Rohtak’s Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences on Friday, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij tweeted. The Harayana state minister also said that there have been no adverse side effects reported on the subjects so far.

“Human trial with Corona vaccine (COVAXIN) of Bharat Biotech started at PGI Rohtak today. Three subjects were enrolled today. All have tolerated the vaccine very well. There were no adverse efforts,” Vij tweeted.

Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN to be launched on August 15

It is pertinent to note that this is the same coronavirus vaccine that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body for the medical research in the country, had announced earlier of being released for the public use by August 15.

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech successfully developed COVAXIN™ in collaboration with the ICMR and National Institute of Virology (NIV). The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune and transferred to Bharat Biotech for the effort.

The ICMR, in its letter to the stakeholders, claimed that COVAXIN™ is the first indigenous vaccine being developed by India and is one of the top priority projects which is being monitored at the topmost level of the Government. The vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of virology. Pune- ICMR and BBIL are jointly working for the preclinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine, the letter read.

Tablighi Jamaat case: Delhi court grants bail to 34 more foreign nationals on plea bargaining

OpIndia Staff
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Tablighi Jamaat case: Delhi court grants bail to 34 more foreign nationals on plea bargaining

Over the last few days, a Delhi court has granted a spree of bails plea bargaining in connection with the Tablighi Jamaat congregation that took place at Markaz Nizamuddin during mid-March amidst the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Plea bargaining is a pre-trial negotiation between the accused and the prosecution where the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for certain concessions by the prosecution. The Criminal Procedure of Code allows for plea bargaining in cases where the maximum punishment is 7-year imprisonment; offences don’t affect the socio-economic conditions of the society and the offence is not committed against a woman or a child below 14 years.

Delhi court grants bail to 34 Thai who attended Tablighi Jamaat event

The Metropolitan magistrate in Delhi today allowed 34 Thai nationals to walk free on plea bargaining and imposed a fine of Rs 6000 each. The foreign nationals from Thailand were represented by advocate Ashima Mandla. The fine has been paid to PM Cares Fund as per the direction of the court.

The court had earlier observed that there was sufficient prima facie material on record to proceed against the accused persons under Section 14(b), Foreigners Act, 1946, under provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and the Indian Penal Code.

The Delhi Court had recently granted bail to foreign nationals in connection with the cases related to Tablighi Jamaat congregation this year in March, which had later turned out to be a coronavirus hotspot. The Delhi Police had booked around 955 foreign nationals in this matter.

Here are other instances in the last few days when the Delhi Court have allowed the bail of foreign nationals accused in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation to walk free in lieu of payment of fine:

Delhi Court allows 200 Indonesians and 22 Nepalese Tablighi to walk free

A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to 92 Indonesians who were charge-sheeted for attending Tablighi Jamaat event here allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. The relief was granted to the foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

Besides Indonesians, 22 Nepalese having a connection with the Muslim seminary and who had attended the controversial event at Markaz Nizamuddin were also allowed to walk free on payment of fine Rs 4,000 each.

Foreign nationals from Djibouti, Mali, Kenya and Sri Lanka granted bail

Earlier this week, the Delhi Court had allowed foreign nationals from Djibouti, Mali, Kenya and Sri Lanka to walk free on payment of Rs 5,000 as fine after the accused accepted mild charges under the plea bargain process, related to various violations including visa norms while attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation here during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Thai and Nepalese Tablighi Jamaat members granted relief

On July 11, the Delhi court allowed a different set of Thai and Nepalese Tablighi Jamaat members, who had attended the gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi in mid-March, to walk free on furnishing the surety of Rs 10,000 each.

Bail granted to 82 Bangladeshi Nationals

Last week, the Delhi court had granted bail to 82 Bangladeshi nationals who had attended the controversial Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi for allegedly violating visa norms, indulging in illegal proselytising activities, and infringing government guidelines, mandated in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur provided bail to the foreigners in exchange of paying a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

Tablighi Jamaat members from China, Brazil, Australia, Fiji and the Philippines granted bail

Earlier this month, the Delhi court granted relief to members of Tablighi Jamaat from China, Brazil, Australia, Fiji, and the Philippines, who were accused of gross violations after they were found attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation that had devolved into a potent coronavirus hotspot in the country.

Hearing the plea bargaining application, the Delhi Court ordered their bail on payment of fine of Rs 10,000 each. The accused had agreed to mild charges under plea bargaining.

Two members of Tamil YouTube channel Karuppar Koottam arrested after insulting Hindu God Murugan in a video

OpIndia Staff
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Two members of Tamil YouTube channel Karuppar Koottam arrested after insulting Hindu God Murugan in a video

Two individuals associated with a Tamil YouTube channel named ‘Karuppar Koottam’ have been arrested by the police in Tamil Nadu after an alleged insult to the worship of Hindu God Murugan. Anchor Surendran and another prominent member M Senthil Wasan were arrested on Wednesday after a case was filed in the matter.

The arrests were made on the basis of complaints filed by youth wing leader Vinoz P Selvam on behalf of Vice President of BJP in Tamil Nadu M.N.Raja and leader R.C.Paul Kanakraj. A Tamil speaker Karan Praveen told OpIndia that the controversy began when the worship of Lord Murugun, or Lord Kartikeya as he is popularly known in North India, the son of Lord Shiva, was mocked.

We were told that Karuppar Koottam in a video hurt the sentiments of the Tamil Hindu community. The said video made fun of the Skanda Shashti Kavacham, which is chanted by Tamil Hindus, to gain the favour of the Gods. The Skanda Shashti Kavacham holds as much significance for Tamil Hindus as the Hanuman Chalisa does in households of North India.

The Karuppar Koottam used the mantra in a very obscene and vulgar manner in one of their videos. Subsequently, the cyber crime branch booked Surendran under sections 153, 153(a) (1) (A), 295 (p), 505 (1) (b) and 505 (2) of the IPC. Following the registration of the FIR, another Surendra Natarajan, surrendered himself before the authorities.

Prior to his surrender, Surendran garlanded a statue of Periyar, in an obvious bid to garner political support. In his anticipatory bail application filed before the Madras High Court on Wednesday (July 15, 2020), Surendran defended himself saying that he has the right to express himself in a democracy and his incendiary comments should not be considered a crime.

“No Namaaz in Masjid”, Maharashtra Government tells Muslims to pray at home during Bakri Eid due to coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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“No Namaaz in Masjid”, Maharashtra Government tells Muslims to pray at home during Bakri Eid due to coronavirus

Amidst the rising number of Coronavirus cases in the State of Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena-led-government had directed that prayers for Bakri Eid must be confined to home. The government has made it clear that prayers should not be offered in Eidgah or other public places. Besides, the government has informed that livestock markets will remain closed and as such goats can only be purchased online or through phone services. As of July 17, Maharashtra has reported 1,14,947 active cases of Coronavirus and 11,294 deaths.

The state govt has also asked Muslims to celebrate the event in a simple manner. “Bakri Eid should be celebrated in a simple manner this year given the COVID-19 outbreak,” an official statement issued by home minister Anil Deshmukh said. The govt also added that there will be no relaxation in restrictions for Eid in containment zones, and people are directed not to congregate in public places on the day of the festival.

Social distancing flouted ahead of Ramzan

As the month of Ramzan commenced, crowds were seen shopping and moving around at various places completely flouting the lockdown and joining the public gatherings. One of the areas was the Shastri Park area of North-east Delhi, which witnessed a huge crowd on despite lockdown orders. Similar situations were seen in financial capital Mumbai also, where authorities have been unable to enforce the lockdown from the beginning. The Ramzan had increased the crowd in the markets in the city, which had the highest number of Coronavirus positive cases in the country.

Class 8 textbook published by Maharashtra govt replaces freedom fighter Sukhdev with Kurban Hussain, probe ordered

OpIndia Staff
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Class 8 textbook published by Maharashtra govt replaces freedom fighter Sukhdev with Kurban Hussain, probe ordered

A massive controversy broke out in Maharashtra after a Class 8 Marathi textbook printed by Maharashtra State Education Board mentioned Kurban Hussain as one of the Freedom fighters to have been hanged alongside Bhagat Singh and Rajguru in connection with the Lahore conspiracy case.

In a glaring error, the Maharashtra State Education Board replaced the name of revered Freedom fighter Sukhdev with another Freedom fighter Kurban Hussain from Solapur as one who was hanged in Lahore along with well renowned revolutionary leaders Bhagat Singh and Rajguru.

Factual errors made in Marathi book of Maharashtra State Board

The omission of Sukhdev’s name from the textbook has created an uproar in the state, with the opposition alleging that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is brainwashing the students with a distorted version of history. The Maharashtra government, under pressure from the opposition and other organisations, have admitted to the error and ordered a probe into the matter as to what led to the replacement of Sukhdev’s name with Kurban Hussain.

The chapter titled “India is my country” in the Marathi textbook of Class 8, the well-known writer Yadunath Thatte’s essay has created a stir after the error of the names of the Freedom fighters were pointed out by the people. On March 23, 1931, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death by the British colonial rulers in Lahore Jail. The incident served as a rallying point for India’s struggle for independence and till this day serves as a reminder of the contributions made by the Freedom fighters to liberate the country from the British shackles. Every year, India celebrates March 23 as “Shaheed Diwas” to mark the contributions of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev for India’s independence struggle and pay homage to them.

NCP claims typographical error, Congress justifies saying its in Marathi book, not in History

While the NCP, one of the alliance partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has called the mistake as “typographical error”, the Congress party has provided an absurd justification to the blunder, claiming that the book is a Marathi textbook and not a History book, notwithstanding the fact that the names of legendary freedom fighters–Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are always taken together. In a bizarre justification, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant claimed that even Kurban Hussain was also a freedom fighter and that the country should also respect the sacrifice made by Hussain.

Brahmin Federation demands action against the culprits

On the other hand, Anand Dave of the Brahmin Federation has asked the state government to take action against the culprits. He has said that the mistake in the class VIII textbook of Balbharati is unacceptable and deplorable. He has also demanded the state government to withdraw all the books immediately.

Vatican releases ‘manual’ to guide Bishops to conduct probes into allegations of sexual offences by church priests

OpIndia Staff
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Vatican releases ‘manual’ to guide Bishops to conduct probes into allegations of sexual offences by church priests

On Thursday, the Vatican reportedly directed Bishops across the world to report sexual offences committed against minors by predator priests, even when they are not legally obliged to do so. The Vatican has also released a manual for bishops and religious superiors to conduct an internal investigation into sexual offences perpetrated against young children and vulnerable adults. As per reports, despite the existence of canonical norms, the laws are often neglected by Bishops.

Unlike the existing Vatican policy about cooperating with the law enforcement in sex crimes only when it is compulsory, the new manual directs Bishops to report all such crimes even when there is no explicit legal obligation. “Even in cases where there is no explicit legal obligation to do so, the ecclesiastical authorities should make a report to the competent civil authorities if this is considered necessary to protect the person involved or other minors from the danger of further criminal acts,” the manual emphasised. The manual reiterated that Bishops and other Church authorities must oblige with subpoena requests.

Reportedly, the manual has been issued in several languages such as Italian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and German to prevent Bishops from citing excuses for not conducting the preliminary investigation against predators within the Church. The manual further directed Bishops to not ignore anonymous allegations or even social media posts as they can be used to conduct a preliminary investigation. Moreover, the manual stated that allegations shall not be ignored under the pretext that they do not fall within the limitations of the Church. The Vatican added that allegations can only be dismissed if the Bishop believes that the chain of events leading up to the assault is improbable.

Vatican warns Bishops against ‘negligence’

The manual stated that sexual offences include sexual relations, physical contacts for gratification, exhibitionism, masturbation, pornography production, and conversions of a sexual nature. The Vatican also listed physical contact with sexual intent as an offence which is often dismissed by Bishops as boundary violations. The manual, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, cautioned that Bishops can be canonically punished if found dismissive of serious allegations or negligent about conducting a preliminary investigation.

Sex abuse summit of 2019

In 2019, Pope Francis led a sex abuse summit and issued 21 points to help Bishops investigate and prevent abuse by church priests. He realised that many bishops did not understand the gravity of the sexual abuse problem in the Catholic Church. One of the recommendations was to issue a detailed handbook that could provide step-by-step instruction. Reportedly, the Vatican had been a long proponent of not encouraging Bishops to report perverted priests under the pretext that it can lead to the persecution of the Catholic priests in countries where they are a minority.

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