Victims of Italy’s paedophile priests demand abuse probe into Catholic Church

Religious and lay associations have come together to call for an independent inquiry and to urge the Italian government to protect children from sexual abuse by the clergy, writes Sofia Barbarani in Rome

St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City (Getty Images)

When Antonio Messina summoned the courage to tell his local church in Sicily that a trainee priest had sexually abused him for several years while he was a teenager, the young man expected to be believed and supported.

Instead, Messina was dismissed as a liar and the Catholic seminarian was swiftly relocated to Ferrara in northern Italy, where he was ordained. The priest in question – Giuseppe Rugolo – allegedly went on to abuse another three children.

Rugolo was arrested last year and charged with abusing children in his care. He has denied the charges against him.