Cardinal Dominik Duka presses charges against perpetrators of sex abuse within the Church

Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka has issued a criminal complaint against perpetrators of sex abuse within the Czech Catholic Church whose acts were documented in an investigative report on Czech Television’s programme '168 hodin'.

According to a spokesman, Cardinal Duka also wants to appeal to members of Parliament to draft an amendment to the criminal code that would make reporting rape and sexual abuse of minors compulsory.

Last week he and 100 other senior Catholic bishops attended a special summit in Rome focused on sexual abuse within the clergy. According to Cardinal Duka, the Czech Catholic Church currently registers roughly one case of alleged abuse every three years. However, most perpetrators receive a suspended sentence due to a lack of evidence.