Vatican abuse trial: priest accused of cover-up says he knows nothing

On Thursday, the Vatican court heard the interrogation of one of the defendants in an ongoing trial of two Italian priests for abuse and cover-up allegedly committed in the Vatican City from 2007 to 2012.

Fr Enrico Radice, 72, was accused of having prevented the investigation of an allegation of abuse against Fr. Gabriele Martinelli, 28.

The abuse allegedly took place at the San Pius X pre-seminary located in the Vatican. Allegations of abuse were first made public in the media in 2017.

Radice stated at the November 19 hearing that he had never been informed of Martinelli's abuses by anyone, accusing the alleged victim and another alleged witness of having invented the story for "economic interests".

The second defendant, Martinelli, was not present at the hearing because he works in a residential health clinic in Lombardy in northern Italy which is under lockdown due to the coronavirus.

The November 19 hearing was the third in the ongoing Vatican trial. Martinelli, accused of using violence and his authority to commit sexual abuse, will be questioned at the next hearing, scheduled for February 4, 2021.

During the approximately two-hour hearing, Radice was questioned about his knowledge of allegations of abuse against Martinelli, as well as about the alleged attacker and his alleged victim.

The priest described the pre-seminary boys as "serene and calm". He said that the alleged victim, LG, had "a lively intelligence and was very dedicated to studies", but over time she had become "pedantic, presumptuous". He said LG had a "fondness" for the Ancient Rite of the Mass, arguing that this is why he "collaborated" with another student, Kamil Jarzembowski.

Jarzembowski is an alleged witness to the crime and a former roommate of the alleged victim. He has previously claimed to have reported abuse by Martinelli in 2014. Jarzembowski, from Poland, was subsequently discharged from the seminary.

At the November 19 hearing, Radice described Jarzembowski as "withdrawn, estranged". Radice said the defendant, Martinelli, was "sunny, joyful, on good terms with everyone".

Radice said he had never seen or heard of abuse in the seminary, that the walls were thin so he would hear something and that he checked to make sure the boys were in their rooms at night.

"No one has ever told me about abuse, not students, not teachers, not parents," said the priest.

Radice said that the testimony of the alleged witness Jarzembowski was motivated by revenge for being expelled from the pre-seminary for "insubordination and because he did not take part in community life".

The San Pius X pre-seminary is a residence for a dozen boys, ages 12 to 18, who serve in papal masses and other liturgies in St. Peter's Basilica and are evaluating the priesthood.

Located on the territory of the Vatican City, the pre-seminar is run by a religious group based in Como, the Opera Don Folci.

The defendant Martinelli was a former student of the youth seminary and would return as a visitor to tutor and coordinate the students' activities. He is accused of abusing his authority in the seminary and taking advantage of trusting relationships, as well as using violence and threats, in order to force his alleged victim "to undergo carnal acts, sodomy, masturbation on himself and on the boy".

The alleged victim, LG, was born in 1993 and was 13 at the time the alleged abuse began, turning 18 about a year before it ended.

Martinelli, who is a year older than LG, was ordained a priest for the diocese of Como in 2017.

Radice was rector of the youth seminary for 12 years. He is accused, as rector, of helping Martinelli to "evade the investigation after crimes of sexual violence and lust."

Giuseppe Pignatone, president of the Vatican court, asked Radice why he said that Jarzembowski and LG were motivated by "economic interests" if Radice had been informed of letters with accusations against Martinelli from Cardinal Angelo Comastri and Bishop Diego Attilio Coletti of Como in 2013, but the allegations were only made public in 2017. Radice said it was his "intuition".

Advertisement
The priest once again praised Martinelli. “He was a leader, he had the characteristics of a leader, I saw him grow, he did every duty well,” said Radice. He added that Martinelli was "trusted", but he had no power or responsibility because in the end the decisions rested with Radice as rector.

During the interrogation of the former rector, it was revealed that the alleged victim LG testified that she spoke with Radice about the abuse in 2009 or 2010, and that Radice "responded aggressively" and LG "was marginalized".

LG stated in its affidavit that "he continued to be abused" and that "he was not the only one to be abused and to speak with Radice".

Radice once again insisted that LG "never" spoke to him. Later, he said that LG spoke to him about "hassles" with Martinelli, but never about sexual abuse.

"There were quarrels and jokes as in all communities of children," said the priest.

Radice was also questioned about a 2013 letter from a priest and spiritual assistant now deceased at the pre-seminary, in which it was said that Martinelli should not be ordained a priest for "very serious and very serious reasons".

The accused said he "knew nothing about it" and the other priest "should have informed me".

Prosecutors had cited as evidence against Radice a letter that he would have made with the bishop of Como's headed paper and in the name of the bishop, stating that Martinelli, then transitional deacon, could be transferred to the diocese of Como.

Radice said he was an assistant to Bishop Coletti at the time, who composed the letter on behalf of the bishop and the bishop signed it, but the bishop later revoked it. Radice's lawyers gave a copy of the letter to the president of the court.

At the hearing, the former rector said that the priests who run the youth seminary have not always been in agreement, but they have not had major conflicts.

It was noted by the accusation that four priests had written to Bishop Coletti and to Cardinal Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica and vicar general for the Vatican City State, to complain about the difficult climate of the youth seminary.