Vatican to prosecute accused molester of pope’s altar boys after years of media and government pressure

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Sep 19, 2019 - 11:00 am EST

Vatican to prosecute accused molester of pope’s altar boys after years of media and government pressure​

Matthew Cullinan Hoffman and Diane Montagna

ROME, September 19, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Following a public denunciation by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and years of pressure from the Italian media and from the government of the city of Rome, the Vatican announced this week that its Promoter of Justice is seeking a criminal trial for a priest accused of having molested the pope’s altar boys at the Pius X pre-seminary, which exists within the Vatican’s walls.

According to the Holy See, the prosecution of Fr. Gabriele Martinelli, who was a seminarian at the time of the alleged crimes, is being sought, as well as that of Fr. Enrico Radice, Rector of the Pre-seminary during the same period, “on charges of aiding and abetting.”

Archbishop Viganò accused high officials in the Holy See of a cover-up of the alleged sexual abuse earlier this year, in material he originally submitted to the Washington Post but which was instead published by LifeSite on July 3. . . .

. . . “After evidence was collected by Fr. Stabellini, the case was immediately covered up by the then-bishop of Como, Diego Coletti, together with Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of Pope Francis for Vatican City.”

“In addition,” he added, “Cardinal Coccopalmerio, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, who was consulted by Fr. Stabellini, strongly admonished him to stop the investigation.

As LifeSite reported in October of 2018, a high-ranking Vatican source states that Cardinal Coccopalmerio was present at a drug-fueled homosexual party inside the Vatican in 2017, and that Pope Francis knows about it.

Archbishop Viganò ended his July 3 testimony, saying:
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“You might wonder how this horrible case was closed. The Bishop of Como removed Don Stabellini from the post of Judicial Vicar; the whistleblower, the seminarian Kamil Jarzembowski, was expelled from the seminary; the two fellow seminarians who had joined him in the denunciation left the seminary; and the alleged abuser, Gabriele Martinelli, was ordained priest in July 2017. All this happened within the Vatican walls, and not a word of it came out during the [February sex abuse] summit.”

Therefore, while today’s news regarding the indictments of Fr. Martinelli and Fr. Radice corroborates Archbishop Viganò’s testimony, it contradicts what Cardinals Coccopalmiero and Comastri reportedly said about the case and raises further questions about why action is only being taken now.

Read Archbishop Viganò’s July 3 testimony here.
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Also related . . .
Thu Sep 19, 2019 - 11:53 am EST

Two cardinals close to Francis accused of covering up sex abuse of pope’s altar boys​

September 19, 2019 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two high-ranking cardinals close to Pope Francis stopped an investigation of a seminarian accused of abusing multiple adolescents who serve at Pope Francis’ masses, according to extensive reports in the Italian media as well as statements made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò that were published by LifeSite earlier this year.

Viganò names the two cardinals as Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of Vatican City, and Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, then the President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. . . .

. . . Following LifeSite’s publication of the accusations, and following an extensive investigation by the Prosecutor of Rome, the Holy See announced this week that its Promoter of Justice is officially requesting a criminal trial of the accused seminarian, now a priest, as well as the rector of the seminary at the time . . .

. . . “One of the seminarians, Kamil Jarzembowski, a roommate of one of the victims, claims to have witnessed dozens of incidents of sexual aggression,” . . .

. . . “After evidence [of the sexual abuse] was collected by Don Stabellini, the case was immediately covered up by the then-bishop of Como, Diego Coletti, together with Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of Pope Francis for Vatican City,” said Viganò. “In addition, Cardinal Coccopalmerio, then President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, who was consulted by Don Stabellini, strongly admonished him to stop the investigation.”

Viganò says that while the accused seminarian was ultimately ordained a priest, his accusers have all been expelled or have left the seminary: . . .

Coverup accusations confirmed by extensive Italian media coverage​

Viganò’s accusations are backed by coverage in the Italian media going back to November of 2017, when the story of the alleged sexual abuse by Martinelli was first revealed . . .

Accused abuser had powerful protectors in the pre-seminary, says witness​

The case came to light principally because of the insistent testimony of one witness: a Polish pre-seminary student named Kamil Tadeusz Jarzembowski. According to Jarzembowski, who is himself an admitted homosexual, he witnessed sexual abuse committed by a seminary student who seemed to enjoy privileges and impunity within the pre-seminary due to his relationship with members of the administration. He therefore had no fear of entering the rooms of pre-seminarians in order to sexually molest them.

Jarzembowski says he directly witnessed . . .
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These kind of clerical behaviors (that we have an Archbishop himself warning us about) have got to stop.
 
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Isn’t Cardinal Coccopalmeria the one who had a priest-Secretary who was arrested as part of a gay drug ring?
I want to believe Pope Francis is completely innocent in all the Vigano etc accusations, but he sure seems to trust some questionable prelates.
 
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twf . . .
Isn’t Cardinal Coccopalmeria the one who had a priest-Secretary who was arrested as part of a gay drug ring?
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Yes. Later it came out that he was there too, but the police let him go for unknown reasons. Perhaps his rank.

From post 1 . . . .
As LifeSite reported in October of 2018, a high-ranking Vatican source states that Cardinal Coccopalmerio was present at a drug-fueled homosexual party inside the Vatican in 2017, and that Pope Francis knows about it.
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Cathoholic said:
“You might wonder how this horrible case was closed. The Bishop of Como removed Don Stabellini from the post of Judicial Vicar; the whistleblower, the seminarian Kamil Jarzembowski, was expelled from the seminary; the two fellow seminarians who had joined him in the denunciation left the seminary; and the alleged abuser, Gabriele Martinelli, was ordained priest in July 2017. All this happened within the Vatican walls, and not a word of it came out during the [February sex abuse] summit.”
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This is troubling. They need to address these issues. Pope Francis will lose credibility in talking about sexual abuse if he does not look into matters in Rome.
 
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It’s early a.m. here. 😴 Seriously, am I understanding things correctly? The rapist was then ordained a priest, and the three good seminarians that turned the rapist in were kicked OUT? The bad guy became the priest, and the good guys that did the right thing were thrown out? Oy vey ! PLEASE, someone, tell me I understood things wrong…
 
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tuscany said:
the three good seminarians that turned the rapist in were kicked OUT?
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The whistleblower Jarzembowski apparently came out as gay himself at some point. While I don’t think that makes him a bad person, it might be grounds for the seminary to decide he should not continue to ordination.
I agree they should have tossed the molester out too though.
 
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But, but, but… the whistleblower who didn’t rape anyone is kicked out, while the rapist is seen as being fit to be a priest ??? THIS is how the Vatican thinks ??? YIKES !
 
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Tis_Bearself . . .
The whistleblower Jarzembowski apparently came out as gay himself . . . (assuming they are following Church teaching about not ordaining homosexual men) might be grounds for the seminary to decide he should not continue to ordination.
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Parenthetical addition mine. (I assume that is what you are alluding to here Tis_Bearself. Correct me if I am wrong.)

Good point.

But that still raises the question of how or WHY they would ordain the homosexual molester?

Stated another way . . .

Since the Vatican Bishops (some of them anyway) knew about his homosexuality, and that he was a molester, it suggests (to me) they are willing to ordain a known or at least suspected-known homosexual molester. (Why?)

So the question distilled, becomes WHY would they ordain a homosexual man?
And especially WHY, if he is known as, or suspected as a child molester of altar boys and molester of Catholic seminarians . . . WHY even consider ordaining such a man??

And the WHY would Cardinal Coccopalmerio and others STOP or at least attempt to stop further investigation??
As LifeSite reported in October of 2018, a high-ranking Vatican source states that Cardinal Coccopalmerio was present at a drug-fueled homosexual party inside the Vatican in 2017, and that Pope Francis knows about it.
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This whole saga is perplexing. I wonder what could be going on?
 
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Cathoholic said:
This whole saga is perplexing. I wonder what could be going on?
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Is this a rhetorical question? The writing has been on the wall for some time now.

Someone who doesn’t have the Church’s best interests in mind is going to step in to “fix” all of this. How doesn’t the Church see this coming?
 
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They never even bothered interviewing Jarzembowski’s roommate according to the Washington Post story.

Some “investigation” by these bishops in the Vatican.

I am glad we as Catholics have other Catholic bishops that ARE warning the faithful of this shenanigans.
 
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Cathoholic said:
They never even bothered interviewing Jarzembowski’s roommate
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One could only speculate as to why. But now, it’s an open question. And, without anyone answering it, it could appear as if they were not able to look the victim in the eye.
 
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Is there a credible mainstream source that places the cardinal at the gay drug fueled party? …because his eminence is, I understand it, very much in the Pope’s inner circle and one of the prelates he has leaned on over and above the CDF. This is very serious and concerning stuff if credible. It was bad enough that his secretary was involved (and there’s no doubt of that).
 
This news was discussed by Edward Pentin and Raymond Arroyo at the beginning of The World Over program here:

 
twf said:
Is there a credible mainstream source that places the cardinal at the gay drug fueled party? …because his eminence is, I understand it, very much in the Pope’s inner circle and one of the prelates he has leaned on over and above the CDF. This is very serious and concerning stuff if credible. It was bad enough that his secretary was involved (and there’s no doubt of that).
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I believe that it was this Italian newspaper that first reported this incident and is the source that LifeSite News and others are basing their stories off of:


It was reported in a couple of mainstream publications, I think all of them based on this report. The National Catholic Register followed up on it with the Vatican who would neither confirm nor deny the story; they stated that some sources told them that they have heard that the story was true, but could not get official confirmation.

 
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