There is a “growing concern” in the Church in Asia about the sexual abuse scandals that have plagued Catholic communities in the West in recent years, even if reported cases “are not so numerous yet as in other parts of the world,” said Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila today. “There is an awareness that this is not only a problem of the West, but something that is happening in the world,” he said on the sidelines of a Vatican-sponsored conference organized in Rome by the Jesuit-run Gregorian University. The conference was scheduled to help bishops and religious superiors to draft guidelines for the handling and prevention of the sexual abuse of minors. Archbishop Tagle was due to address the conference later today on the topic of sexual misconduct in Asia. His report will be “factual,” sharing “some of our experience in Asia, in particular my experience in the Philippines, of how the Church has been addressing this whole question,” he said. He admitted that cultural differences between Asia and the West tend to blur the boundaries between abuse and affection. Archbishop Tagle said a growing awareness of the risk of sexual abuse has resulted in such “cultural expressions” peculiar to Asia being “reviewed by the Church and by some scientists and psychologists” because “there is the risk that some behaviors that are accepted in a culture could lead to possible abuse.” There are no hard figures on sexual abuse in the Asian Church, and the bishops’ assessments are mostly based on pastoral evaluations, the prelate added. “In terms of reported cases in Asia – as the Church is a minority there – [statistics] are very few. But this doesn’t mean that no cases, no serious cases, occurred.” The majority of cases of reported sexual misconduct involve clergy fathering children, he said. Only two Asian bishops’ conferences, in India and the Philippines, have so far begun drafting guidelines as mandated by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Tagle said, adding that this did not mean that other countries are not concerned. Some Asian episcopal conferences are small and require outside assistance for preparing the guidelines. “I was approached by some bishops from Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, asking if the studies done in the Philippines could be shared with them,” he said. The prelate added that the sexual abuse of minors was a problem in Asian society as a whole. “Local tourists and tourists from other parts of the world come to Asia to have sexual encounters with young people. There are some local people who gather young children to be sold as prostitutes. There are cases that must be looked into.” Related reports Bishops to address sexual abuse
