Velasio de Paolis in recent inverview with Spanish magazine Vida Nueva when asked about compensation for Maciel's victims gives amounts. Disgraceful!
What are the results of the Victims Commission?
We were not obliged to look for the victims. Whoever felt they were a victim could make a request to the commission. In final analysis, the victims were less than ten, each one of which has received compensation of 15, 25, 35 thousand euros. In some cases, more.
- ¿A qué resultados ha llegado la comisión encargada de las víctimas?
- Nosotros no teníamos el deber de buscar a las víctimas. Quien se sentía víctima podía hacer una petición a la comisión. Las víctimas, al final, han sido menos de diez, cada una de las cuales ha recibido indemnizaciónes de 15.000, 25.000 o 35.000 euros. En algunos casos, incluso algo más.
Velasio's performance as Apostolic Delegate is not only a disgrace to his appointment, but an affront and insult to MM's/LC's victims. Two years ago, B16 declared, "no more asking for forgiveness, but now is time to do due justice to the victims". Velasio's words are just a mockery to B16's declaration.
ReplyDeleteThe outreach commision is a farce. This article ignores those who are dissatisfied with the outreach's engagement and certainly does not give a complete picture of what they have done or are doing. It does not consider the victims who refuse to engage with this farse, for fear of further damage.
ReplyDeleteI know of one victim who approached the legion and the outreach commission and was so sick with anxiety he had asked them to refrain from getting in touch with him for the time being.
I myself approached the commission specifically asking to be heard by the commission but that I did not want to engage with any Legionary priest. I quite clearly asked to be given contact details for the non LC priests who are part of the commission.
The LC priest that replied, Fr. Florian Sanchez, said that having heard my request to not engage with a Legionary priest, the commission could only proceed in my case after I had submitted the relevant details of my abuse to the commission and could I please forward the relevant information (acercamiento@legionaries.org) and then they would decide who would deal with me.
I replied to him that I did not trust him nor any other legionary of christ, that I did not want to speak to him nor any other legionary of christ any more: ten years has been enough.
I said to him that it was rude of them to make me wait 40 days to get such an ignorant and dismissive response. It highlighted to me their lack of desire to listen to victims, their lack of care.
He replied with the address of the Spanish diocesan priest, Fr. Nieto, who is involved with the commission.
He, in turn, replied that because I was not specifically abused by Maciel, that I do not fall under the competency of the comission and further that the commission cannot begin to study, analize nor value my testimony.
End of story.
It is my belief that the commission is LC centred: it has established its own criteria for "outreach" towards victims, without any real consideration of what a victim WANTS or NEEDS or even TELLS THEM.