As our Paperjam colleagues reported, the cases concerned six individuals in total--four men, two women--who were 6-12 years old at the time. All six cases were reported by to the prosecution by the diocese.

The Archdiocese stated in a press release that the individuals testified on “sexual violence suffered inside the Church”, adding: “In one case, the period between 1940 and 1949 was designated as the beginning of the abuses, in another case, the period between 1960 and 1969. The other four cases refer to the period from 1970 to 1979.” 

Two of the cases were reported as having taken place in a church; in four cases, abuse was said to have occurred in a boarding school or home. The identified perpetrators, none of whom are still living, were priests or religious individuals in three of the cases, with one non-religious individual also reported. 

The Archidiocese has apologised for “the suffering..and the consequences of these abuses”. In 2019, 74 of its employees also participated in one-day prevention courses.