In Philippines, a child alleges abuse by Catholic priest — and tests Vatican promise for global reckoning

May 3, 2023 · By Shibani Mahtani and Regine Cabato for www.washingtonpost.com

Share this page:

A child draws in her home on the outskirts of Cadiz City in the Philippines. After an alleged assault by a priest in her community, her family has filed a lawsuit against the clergyman. (Hannah Reyes Morales for The Washington Post)

In Philippines, a child alleges abuse by Catholic priest — and tests Vatican promise for global reckoning

CADIZ CITY, Philippines — The girl, her long hair in a ponytail, stepped into the cramped, dimly lit courtroom, her first time in such a place. Clinging to her mother, she scanned the dozens of faces assembled before her. The girl, then 5 years old, eventually pointed to a bald man in a striped shirt, his spectacles resting on his head.

She appeared nervous and did not speak his name.

Her slight gesture in September — identifying the Rev. Aron Buenacosa as the man who sexually assaulted her — began the rare trial in the Philippines of a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Her case, in this quiet village on a central Philippine island, will also test Pope Francis’s pledge of an “all-out battle” to confront sexual abuse in all corners of the Catholic world.

The historical reckoning over abuse and coverups has gripped the church in the West for decades. But far fewer public cases have come from other parts of the Catholic world, including Africa, Asia and the pontiff’s homeland in Latin America.

In some cases, the reasons are institutional: legal systems not built to handle abuse cases, the traditional role of church leaders in politics, and prosecutors unwilling to go against the powers of the church.

How the Vatican deals with new allegations of abuse from these regions could define Francis’s papacy and reflect on his acknowledgment that the church has unfinished business in dealing with its scandals.

The trial in the Philippines — Asia’s largest Catholic-majority country — is such a moment.

About 8 in 10 Filipinos are Catholic, and the faith permeates every facet of life in the country, from education to state affairs. Politicians have historically relied on religious leaders for endorsements, made a show of piousness during campaigns and shied away from subjects such as abortion for fear of angering the faithful.

Alleged abuse by Philippine priests has been documented for more than a generation, but it has gone largely unpunished. People making abuse claims against Catholic priests have to battle against bureaucracy, corruption in government agencies and a severely backlogged court system.

Only a handful of cases come to court trials, and even when priests admit wrongdoing, the system still leans in their favor. No priest has been convicted of child abuse or other sexual misconduct.

The hearings in the Buenacosa case were to have wrapped up by this summer, but the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the proceedings back. Across the country, courts have scaled back operations and hearings have been suspended. The presentation of the next prosecution witness in the Buenacosa trial has been postponed indefinitely. Defense witnesses also have yet to take the stand.

Even on hold, the proceedings in Cadiz City mark a powerful inflection point in the Philippines.

The court has heard the girl’s testimony and the evidence, including medical reports. The local bishop has temporarily sidelined the alleged abuser from his parish, surrounded by sugar-cane fields, where around 650 people fill the pews for Sunday Mass.

The trial has also come at an exceptional time in the relationship between the church and Philippine leadership.

President Rodrigo Duterte — who, unlike every president before him, says he owes no favors to the church — has tasked his Justice Department with supervising the prosecution, a highly unusual move in the Philippine justice system, where most cases are handled solely by local prosecutors.

Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has denounced local bishops for standing up to his policies, including a war on drugs that rights groups and international investigators have asserted is rife with extrajudicial killings and other abuses. Duterte, who says he himself was sexually abused by a priest, has called bishops “sons of bitches” and “useless fools” who should be “killed.”

But critics wonder if even Duterte’s clout can match that of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

“The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear about these cases is, what would be the name of the church official who is going to protect this man?” said Michal Gatchalian, a lawyer who says he and others in his church were victims of clerical sexual abuse in the 1990s. He took his case all the way to the Philippine Supreme Court, but the alleged abuser was acquitted.

“There will always be that bishop, or that monsignor, who will take the heat [and] who would say, ‘I’m doing this to save the church,’ ” he added.

Philippine priests say cases such as the one against Buenacosa weaken their ability to be a moral voice.

“It must really wake us up to do what must be done,” said the Rev. Robert Reyes, an activist priest. “Not only because we need to protect ourselves, no, but because we have a responsibility to God, to the church and to the people we serve.”

The Washington Post has spoken to the family of the alleged victim multiple times over the phone and in person since the claims of abuse were reported in February 2019. The girl’s mother and father agreed to speak to The Post using their nicknames, Bem and Nonoy, respectively, to protect their privacy and the child’s identity.

Buenacosa, contacted multiple times through his lawyers and the bishop in charge of his diocese, declined to comment, citing the ongoing criminal proceedings. He has pleaded not guilty.

In his affidavit, the priest said he had been facing “death threats and malicious messages” for years. In the document, seen by The Post, Buenacosa did not explicitly acknowledge the allegations against him, but he maintained that he has been behaving in line “with the ideals and teachings of the Catholic Church.”

His supporters believe that the family is acting on a grudge against the priest and has malicious intent.

Share this page:

Tags: Catholic Priest