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Pedophilia in the SSPX: Trust your priest

By Annette Langer

Little is known about sɛҳuąƖ offenses in the ranks of the ultra-conservative Catholic SSPX. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with victims and their relatives - their experience of the Church's "reclamation" is staggering.

The SSPX does much to distinguish itself from the supposed modernist Catholic mainstream. In one but traditionalists and official church dignitaries are remarkably similar: in dealing with sɛҳuąƖ abuse.

"I have to forgive him", says the now 13-year-old Joey * a priest groped him in the dormitory of a boarding school in Brussels under the duvet. The "dirty things" did with him, touched him, as it should do in a child not an adult. The let him kneel in front of him, punished him and humbled. It reported his parents and siblings of the boy.

"Forgiveness? No, it's too early," says Joey's mother with pressed lips. "Because this priest regret nothing." In 2010, it should be according to the parents at first sɛҳuąƖ assault on the then seven-year Joey, his four year older brother Luke * and at least one pupil of the boarding of the SSPX, the then eight-year-old Michael *, come. At a time, then, the Catholic Church shaken as world uncovered abuse scandals in its foundations.

The traditionalist SSPX SSPX short, was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Its members do not feel bound by the decisions of Vatican II, they reject the liturgical reform, an opening to ecuмenism or the recognition of Judaism as a modernist from. Since 1975, the SSPX has no canonical status more - thus carried priestly and episcopal ordinations without Rome's permission. Pope John Paul II. Excommunicated illicitly ordained clergy, Benedict XVI. raised 2009 excommunications on again. Parts of the SSPX are openly anti-Semitic, as it showed the scandal h0Ɩ0cαųst denier Richard Williamson. For the SSPX secularism and atheism are synonymous with mortal sin, the writings of the Enlightenment "heresies". They condemn abortion, contraception, interest rate speculation, equality, ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity and pornography.

The priest from Brussels is said to have made structural changes in the boarding to unobserved with the children to be able to be intimate. The parents report that he has had to brick up a passage through which had previously fled for fear of his advances in a small bathroom the children to shut themselves up there.

In the trial at the Criminal Court of Brussels, the accused had any suspicion of a systematic, planned abuse itself: If anything, he had acted in a state of "Sexsomnie" he said. So subconsciously, sleepwalking, without control of himself.

It is known that invoke some abusers to justice in this type of sleep disorder, only to plead insanity. The appearance of the clergy seemed to sufferers well planned and staged: "He came in and acted as if he were the victim," the mother of Joey and Luke recalls. "He cried and moaned the whole time."

"Speech never ill of a priest"

The wailing would not have been necessary, because the man was acquitted in May 2015 for lack of evidence. "His lawyer has described in court as a liar my son", the applicant, the mother of Michael outraged. For the traditionalist convinced the confrontation was with the abuse also a process of disillusionment.

"In the SSPX to learn to revere the clergy," she says. "Speech never bad about a priest who trust him, show respect." It had taken her a long time to open your eyes. "I was like a child who trusts his parents. It expects not that they want to harm him. We're like a big family." Today the applicant wants only one thing: Prevent the priest again working with children.




Her son Michael had made a video statement to the police shortly after the display and applicable concrete charges. Joey and Luke but had to wait for an appointment for her statement half a year. The result: Both repressed what happened.

"When it was time, they said nothing, which would have been admissible in court," the mother recalls. "Joey has all denied, Luke has spoken only about Joey and Michael, but not about his own abuse experience." For trauma experts a completely understandable reaction. But a disaster for everyone who wanted to see the priest behind bars.

The psychological consequences of abuse were obvious: For months Joey wrapped at night for fear of attacks in several sheets. The problems in school piled up. Lukes font became smaller and smaller, he had nightmares and started to arm themselves with toy guns, swords, simply everything that could serve his defense.

Once the priest had come at night in the dormitory and had his little brother simply placed and carried over the shoulder, told Luke. The two had disappeared in the clergy office, until now no one knows what happened there. Joey himself just said, "Nothing That's a secret between the Abbe and me I was allowed to eat chocolate..."

Victims have no chance

to provide evidence of an abuse is hard. Silence, false solidarity with the perpetrators or active cover-up by managers ensure regularly that the victims have no chance. Because experience shows that many years need to sacrifice struggle through to a statement, witnesses are often poorly raise or remember only bad.

When Joey desperately turned because of the sɛҳuąƖ assaults on a Catholic sister in the boarding school, did not respond to: "I have it on the ears, I hear so bad," she said later to demand the mother.

"Who knows how many victims are there?", Which asks today. She herself had already in 2010 complained to the former superiors for the Benelux countries, because the priest had made her son unusually expensive gifts and they are already suspicious. The Upper promised to take care of - and did nothing.

As the allegations were concrete, the Fraternity suspended the priest. The parents filed a complaint. After the acquittal in the first instance is now running the appeal process against the priest. Parents have decided to suspend their children no further surveys.

"The SSPX has reacted in this case within 24 hours, suspended this week and immediately handed over to the civil authorities. At the same time, the case was reported to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome," the Brotherhood on request by SPIEGEL ONLINE in a statement.

The reaction came late because: The alleged suspects clergyman was known for years as a potential risk. He was accused in his home country, Switzerland, for pedophilia in a canonical process and acquitted in 2006 for lack of evidence already of 2005. The priests have since exercised a "limited and supervised apostolate," the SSPX on request. Nevertheless, the minister was appointed shortly thereafter calculated at the boarding school in Brussels. And took over the night supervision at the primary school.
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The SSPX has because of their radical views since 1975 no canonical status more and thus no Roman Catholic organization. This means: All priestly and episcopal ordinations carried out without Rome officiate permission and the administration of the Sacraments are illegitimate. Absurdly, treated the official Church traditionalists but as equivalent when it comes to "delicta graviora" who abuse deeds goes.

In May 2015, the Congregation gave the Superior General of the SSPX, Bernard Fellay to speak the mandate, right on abusers in their ranks - even in the cases provided here.

The guardian angel of the Superior General

"This lack of transparency, cover-ups and cronyism is more abetted" says Simon P. *, who comes from a long-established, multi-headed Pius family and himself became the victim of a priest. "A Pius brother sɛҳuąƖly abused me in a 1989 pioneer camp and tried to rape me," P. Eleven years old reported he had been, the pedophiles have a year following him persistently. "The Superior General of the SSPX, Bernard Fellay, has this priest protected for almost 20 years," said his accusation.

P. attended two boarding the SSPX in France, he has absorbed the principles of hardliners in human milk. He was part of the fundamentalist microcosm knows where almost everyone each and networks are reliable and discreet. His case can imagine how devastating it must be for an adolescent, when half of his own family tries to stick to the ideals of closed Pius Society, although their structure has made the unpunished abuse possible.

In 1991, P. wrote his own words a letter to the then Superior General, in which he warned of the over grip priests. But although repeatedly abuse were allegations nothing happened.

Many years later, in July 2008, the Superior General Bernard Fellay responded in a letter, which SPIEGEL ONLINE, the allegations of P. He stated that he had his assistant Niklaus Pfluger transfer the investigation. He also assured the suspects had been "a long time released from working with children and I do not think that there have been more cases."

In fact, the suspect worked full nine years in France undisturbed with minor pioneers from 1993 to 2002 confirming the SSPX. "Father Laurençon, District Superior of the Brotherhood in France since 1996, turned different, increasingly restrictive measures against him. These measures were taken by Mgr. Fellay, Superior General of the Society since 1994, always approved."

"Serious misconduct on our part"

Alone, the measures were obviously not effective: The suspicious priest has a ban on working with children, opposes and describes it as unjust. In a letter to the former Upper Schmidberger the priest wrote in 2005: "It is a weakness that was fleeting, and I regret wholeheartedly you let me resume the priesthood and I've shown what I can to. different places, to the satisfaction of all. "

In the letter the priest trying to show himself in a favorable light, writes the SSPX in a statement. "It leaves aside the fact that it concerned a limited apostolate." It is true that the priest had repeatedly circuмvented the restrictions imposed on him in office. "He often chalked on the behavior of his superiors and saw himself as a notorious victims of their machinations."

"The serious misconduct had on our part that we have not enforced the ban," the Pius investigators Pfluger 2008 says in an interview with the abuse victims P. whose audio copy SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Only after P. has sent a letter of complaint to the CDF in Rome, opened the SSPX in 2012 a canonical process against the priest. The clergyman was sentenced to resigning his positions. He appealed against in Summer 2013 in Rome an appeal.

"Unfortunately, the priest rejected the decisions of ecclesiastical authorities and leave the SSPX", according to the current opinion. The Ex-Pius brother became an associate member of a faction called Resistence to which it belongs and the recalcitrant h0Ɩ0cαųst denier Richard Williamson. The priest establish regular "his work" in the west of France, it is announced on the website of the grouping.

The traditionalists are not just Christian fundamentalists, many are openly anti-Semitic - that we know at least since the scandal Williamson. In Italy found 2013 funeral of the nαzι war criminal Erich Priebke at the Pius brothers instead. Even in the refugee issue they position themselves currently far right - xenophobic and Islamophobic. anyway Corrosive criticism of the liberal Pope Francis is good form.

John Paul II. Urged deep black sheep of the SSPX once the ecclesiastical offside by excommunicated several illicitly ordained clergy. Pope Benedict XVI. lifted 2009 excommunication on again.

recognized SSPX back in the home country of the Pope

And Francis? Seems amazingly intention to begin the arch-conservatives back into the fold of the Church. For the duration of the holy year 2015/2016 the Pope declared unexpected confession within the SSPX legal. "I trust that in the near future solutions can be found to recover full unity with the priests and superiors of the Brotherhood," said the pontiff.

The former District Superior of Germany and Austria, Franz Schmidberger, already saw a "final normalization" of strained relations come - a nightmare for abuse victims, who see it as a reward for cover-up and non-transparent structures.

So Shall the fundamentalists to be domesticated by inclusion? In early April received Francis personally the Superior General Bernard Fellay. For observers an indication that the SSPX could get the status of a personal prelature long as the lay organization Opus Dei. This would mean a canonical recognition, but with the greatest possible autonomy for the fundamentalists.

In Argentina, the home of the Pope, the SSPX has been officially recognized as part of the Catholic Church already April 2015 by the state. used return, had Francis' successor in the office of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Mario Aurelio Cardinal Poli. Whether with the blessing or a strongly recommending the pontiff, is not known.

* All names have been changed to protect the person concerned by the editors.

Can any of our European readers provide details about the similar, but worse, SSPX pedophile scandals in Ireland and Germany?