Abbasanta, the shocking revelation of the parish priest: "I was sexually abused"

The news came through the parish chat, together with the weekly calendar of liturgical celebrations, causing a great stir and disbelief.

The parish priest Father Paolo Contini "confessed" to the faithful of the Christian community of Abbasanta, Ghilarza and Norbello, that he had suffered abuse when he attended the minor seminary of the Franciscans .

«Normally it is I who listen to your confessions - wrote the religious - but today I decided to place myself with an open heart in front of all of you. I want to confess the truth to you, the very painful truth that has troubled my heart in these two years. In mid-December 2021, I accidentally came into possession of certain evidence of a crime that I suffered during my seminary years and without any hesitation I immediately reported the pedophile to my bishop Roberto .

« I was 14 - adds the priest - when the nightmare began and for years I had to suffer unheard-of violence . Following my first complaint, the pedophile was "sentenced" to two or three months to spend in the Holy Land. Upon his return, his diocese promoted him parish priest of a seaside parish, where thousands of children pass through every year".

«Mine – adds Contini – is not a battle against the Church. I love the Church, I serve her with conviction and I want to continue serving her until the last day of my earthly life. The Church is a healthy body - underlines the priest - in which cancer cells can arise: pedophiles. A criminal judicial process will begin shortly and I will certainly be committed heart and soul to this journey. I will not abandon the service to our communities and I assure you of the usual commitment in each of our appointments".

"This is the church of Pope Francis - concludes Father Paolo - in which useless shyness cannot find space, in openly denouncing those who are guilty of such heinous crimes as pedophilia".