The case involving Father Manca, a priest sentenced in the first instance by the Ecclesiastical Court of Cagliari to defrocking for alleged abuse that occurred over thirty years ago against Marco Contini, now known as Father Paolo, is expected to continue through the next stages of the proceedings.
Roberto Perghem, the priest's lawyer, expressed his deep dismay at the decision, calling the sentence "unfounded and unproportionate" given the contested facts.
According to the lawyer, the sentence imposed represents the most serious sanction provided for by canon law and, in his many years of experience in Church criminal proceedings, is applied only in cases of serious, repeated, and proven sexual abuse, often to the detriment of multiple minors.
The lawyer announced that, once the reasons for the sentence have been filed, an appeal will be filed with the Holy See. The defense argued that no evidence of sexual activity was produced during the proceedings and that the accuser himself had repeatedly denied the existence of sexual relations. Despite this, the court decided to impose the maximum penalty.
The statement released by the lawyer also emphasizes that Father Manca exercised his priestly ministry for over fifty years without ever being the subject of disciplinary action or reports.
The defense's decision not to publicly disclose details of the proceedings, it is explained, was dictated by respect for the process and for the ecclesiastical institutions involved.
According to lawyer Perghem, the case is part of a broader climate that, in recent years, has led to a sort of "witch hunt" within the Church, also due to strong media pressure and demands for compensation advanced by the accusers even before the definitive ascertainment of the facts.
The lawyer also recalls that the matter had already been shelved by the Vatican in the past, for reasons that were also shared by representatives of the Sardinian Church.
In light of what are defined as "serious violations of the law," the defense does not rule out appealing to the Italian and European judicial authorities in the future to protect Don Manca's rights as an Italian citizen and ensure respect for the principles of due process and human rights.
We now await the appeal decision, in the hope – concludes the lawyer – that the proceedings can be re-examined by rigorously applying the norms of canon law, without external influences and respecting the truth of the facts.
(Unioneonline/Fr.Me.)
