A shocking new report from Rete l’Abuso – Italy’s largest victims’ association claims that nearly 4,400 people have been abused by Catholic priests and church-affiliated figures since 2020.
Reuters says 4,395 victims were abused by priests alone, most male and many under 18. Only 76 of 1,106 suspected predator priests ever faced church trials.
The numbers read like a horror film script, but they are lived realities. The church hierarchy, meanwhile, remains muted. Only 81 out of 226 dioceses responded to Vatican safeguarding questionnaires.
Survivors spoke. Reports were filed. And still, the system turned a deaf ear.
When every crime cries out in silence, the walls of the “holy” institution become complicit.
The Vatican has publicly urged transparency, and Pope Leo himself met with abuse survivors, a move few saw coming. But action? That’s another matter. Local bishops in Italy, historically slow to change, still cling to the old instinct: hide, deflect, cover up.
This isn’t just a church scandal. It’s a moral infrastructure collapse. A system built on faith, unfaithful to its own.
Because when the sacred silence speaks, the brokenness echoes.
