The Pia School of Catalonia has revealed new sexual abuse of minors in Senegal by religious members of its institution. In this case, the order that manages numerous schools has recognized that the Piarist Josep Maria Canet committed abuses against children between 8 and 12 years old during his time as a missionary and director of a boarding school in the African country. It occurred between 1992 and 2005.
In a joint statement, the Pia School and the Commission for the Defense of Minors Sexually Abused in the Church in Senegal explain that they became aware of the events after the abuses committed by another Piarist, Manel Sales, became public in June 2023. . As a result of this new information, a commission of experts investigated the case and concluded that Canet sexually abused different students at the Joseph Faye school in Oussouye, in Senegal, and with minors in the population.
Canet was transferred to France in 2005 after several young Catalan collaborators informed the Piarist authorities of the abuses committed in Senegal by Manel Sales, his companion. Subsequently, starting in 2007, Josep Maria Canet held important positions within the congregation, as a member of the government team, economic advisor and treasurer of the Order. Since September 2023, and while the investigation process has lasted, he has been removed from all his positions within the Order.
The Commission for the Defense of Minors Sexually Abused in the Church in Senegal and the Pia School have communicated this information to the Prosecutor’s Office and have shared it with the Ombudsman. The Piarists have also reported the events to the ecclesiastical authorities.
Investigation of the facts
Following the communication with the victims and the publication of the June 29, 2023 statement on the abuses committed by Manel Sales, where the institution acknowledged having covered up abuses for 25 years, various victims have approached the Commission in recent years. months to share their testimonies and provide new information. The new reported facts have been investigated and verified by an external team made up of three renowned professionals in the fields of law, criminology and psychology.
This team, which has interviewed two of the victims and the aggressor, has confirmed that the stories are credible and that what the victims expressed constitutes sexual abuse of minors, according to the legislation in force in Senegal and Spain at the time of the crimes. facts. According to the testimony of the victims, collected in the statement, it is confirmed that the abuses occurred between 1992 and 2005, when the minors were between 8 and 12 years old.
From the investigation of the commission of experts it is deduced that between 1992 and 2005, when Canet was assigned as a missionary and director of the Joseph Faye Boarding School in Oussouye, “he maintained sexual contacts with different students at the school and with minors from the population.” ”.
The statement denounces that these practices are “contrary to his commitments as a religious and represent an abuse of authority and power.” It is also noted that the young people were in a situation of subordination and dependence on him and the Pia School. It is also added that these actions put them at risk of being imprisoned, since the practice of homosexuality is considered a crime in Senegal.
According to the testimony of the victims before the Commission for the Defense of Minors Sexually Abused in the Church in Senegal, Josep Maria Canet knew about the sexual abuse of minors committed by fellow Piarist Manel Sales – publicly reported in June 2023 – and covered it up. Both carried out the abuse in the same Joseph Faye Boarding School in Oussouye and in other locations in the region described by the victims, where Canet and Sales invited minors to share moments of leisure with them.
The Pia School’s response
The Order of the Pia School publicly assumes the events described and occurred in Senegal and expresses “its absolute indignation, rejection and rejection” for these acts that “should have had no place or possible justification.”
He apologizes to all the victims, their families and the Senegalese communities for the damage caused by the Pious School, as well as to the people who trusted Josep Maria Canet and his work as a religious and educator in Senegal and Catalonia.
He also apologizes to the people “who at some point in the past approached the institution and were not treated correctly by the Piarist leaders of that time in Senegal and Catalonia.”
In accordance with the commitment made in June 2023, the Pious School, in collaboration with the Commission for the Defense of Minors Sexually Abused in the Church in Senegal, has commissioned the same external team of independent professionals to carry out care for the victims of abuses committed by Piarists in Senegal, with the intention of repairing the damage caused.
To this end, this external repair team makes available a telephone number ((00221) 76 752 61 87) and an online reporting channel for anyone who wishes to share information related to events that occurred in Senegal, Catalonia or elsewhere. countries by the denounced Piarists.
#Piarists #Catalonia #recognize #sexual #abuse #minors #Senegal #years #coverups
