The South China Morning Post today (2 May 2002) reported on the sexual abuse of minors by three Catholic priests in Hong Kong. The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong would like to make the following public statement by way of clarification:

It is beyond question that the sexual abuse of minors is not only an appalling sin but also a serious crime. The diocesan authorities cannot and will not tolerate paedophile practices in any shape or form (whether of the serial or singular kind), least of all by priests, in whom the public in general and the faithful in particular place a special trust. Children and young people have a paramount right to be protected from the danger of sexual abuse.

Over the past 27 years as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Baptist Wu has received complaints against three priests who had been accused of sexually abusing minors.

The first case involved a priest who had reportedly committed a sexual abuse in his home country many years ago, long before his coming to Hong Kong. The priest was recalled and was barred from any ministry involving contact with minors. There was no complaint and no evidence or suspicion of any wrongdoing during his time in Hong Kong. The priests involved in the other two cases were both suspended from public ministry with one subsequently leaving the priesthood.

The diocesan authorities will adopt a No Tolerance Policy. This means any Catholic priest, working in Hong Kong, once proven to have committed even one act of sexual abuse of a minor, shall be removed from public ministry.

The diocesan authorities will form an inter-disciplinary committee (composed of experts from the legal, educational and medical fields, etc.) to review and formulate policies and procedures for promoting greater awareness of and concern for the sexual abuse of minors. This committee will also address the relevant issues and problems, such as the implications of a No Tolerance Policy in relation to paedophile practices and lay down guidelines to ensure, among other things, that all requirements of the Hong Kong SAR Law are complied with.

The diocese will be issuing a Policy Statement in due course as well as various directives to strengthen existing measures for the protection of children and young persons as a matter of paramount right.