Scandal in the Church: Money for Silence Proposed by Diocese

Vatican City - Offering Caritas money, in cash, in exchange for the silence of the victim raped by Don Giuseppe Rugolo: this was the terrifying proposal of the Diocese of Enna-Piazza Armerina, in Sicily. The circumstance was confirmed in court by Antonio Ciavola (then head of the Mobile Squad of Enna and now serving in Caltanissetta), during the trial presided over by Francesco Pitarresi that is being held at the court of Enna and sees the priest Giuseppe Rugolo, under house arrest for a year, as the defendant. The news comes precisely on the day when Pope Francis in the Vatican received the Commission for the Protection of Minors, recommending annual comprehensive checks to see if the national episcopal conferences are making progress in getting rid of the bad apples, protecting the victims, and acting in total transparency. The State Police officer, heard in court for over 4 hours, also explained how the documents reveal the victim's outright refusal to accept this proposal that came from Bishop Rosario Gisana. The young person, who had suffered violence from 2009 to 2013, would have considered this proposal immoral and illicit. All circumstances documented by the materials produced by the civil party that would testify to the offer of 25 thousand euros in cash, therefore untraceable, in exchange for silence. In the courtroom, some sexually explicit chats between Rugolo and some also former students of the school where the priest had taught for years, as well as with young residents in the territory of Ferrara where the priest had been transferred, were also read. Rugolo would have frequented pornographic sites where it was possible to interact through the camera with other people. Furthermore, the modus operandi of the prelate and the methods aimed at hooking young people in a state of psychological fragility were reconstructed. The priest, who was present in the courtroom, is currently restricted to house arrest in the seminary of Ferrara.