Jazmin Hermosillo/March 12/1:28pm/Religious Conflict

Priest Quits After Abuse Reports


This incident happened in Rome, Pietro Gelmini, a Roman Catholic priest well known in Italy for his work with drug addicts left his priesthood after he was accused of sexually abusing the men he was helping in his rehabilitation center. After this accusation the former priest told reporters that he had the permission of Pope Benedict XVI to leave his priesthood. He said that he left the priesthood so that he would not have to involve the church in his defense.
A magistrate in the city of Terni in central Italy was expected to decide if Pietro Gelmini should stand trail or if they should just close the case. Well four men that were in Mr. Gelmini’s rehabilitation center accused him of sexually assaulting them in early August, but lawyers of Mr. Gelmini have said the men were just acting out of revenge because they had been ejected from the rehabilitation center.
My thought on this case would have to be that of amazement because I don’t understand why Mr. Gelmini would want to leave his priesthood if he knows he didn’t do anything wrong. There was no reason for him to have to give up his priesthood for just some accusations made by ex-drug addicts. Maybe the men were mad because of them being taken out of the rehabilitation center but that also doesn’t give them the right to accuse a well know priest of such accusations. Well all in all I don’t understand how leaving the priesthood wont affect the Church during his trial if supposedly these accusations happened during his priesthood and there still isn’t any senesce in leaving, but all in all I hope there is a trail because if the case is closed no one would ever know what happened with these four men and Priest Pietro Gelmini.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/world/europe/03italy.html?_r=1