“The church has often been accused of hiding those who have made mistakes. I hope to never find myself an accomplice to those who commit a crime and I will not back down if I have to report abuses by churchmen. However, here the question is different and asks me not to hold back in welcoming back and reinstating a priest. Because either Don Giacomo Ruggeri comes back here or this story remains an enchantment for life.
The bishop of Fano Fossombrone Cagli Pergola yesterday thus explained the reasons that led him to recall the former parish priest of Orciano to our diocese, 10 years after his sentence of one year, 11 months and 10 days (sentence served on appeal) for sexual acts on a minor. “This choice requires a certain courage on your part, on my part and on everyone’s part – continues Bishop Andreozzi -. Because then people stop you on the street and even insult you. We cannot predict all of the situations that will happen, for better or for worse. We certainly need someone to help us create a climate of familiarity and also trust. I have full trust in this priest, otherwise I would not have taken any steps in this direction recidivist pedophile as has been said in recent days…If there had been even this very distant perception, Don Giacomo would not be here. Last October I visited him in the diocese of Pordenone and, subsequently, I maintained a calm, authentic dialogue with him. and constructive. I found in him a humble priest, aware of the evil done and the good received from the summer of 2012 to today, with the courage necessary to understand the deep roots of his history and his identity”. It is the sense of church and harmony that he would like to grow following this return to his community, the profound reason that pushed the bishop to make a choice, certainly not easy to make but also to understand. “Here it is not a question of assigning a position or a role – he explains -, but of welcoming a brother, who needs to be helped in his reintegration into his land and in his service to the kingdom of God. I believe that, out of over 220 dioceses in Italy, Fr. James must return right here, because here he was born into the faith and was ordained a presbyter. We cannot ask others what is up to us alone to do.”
It is also clear to the bishop that he cannot expect to have everyone’s approval of his actions. “I respect the reasons of others, I welcome them, I read them and I take note of them. But I also believe that there is a need for a new look at this story. I’m not talking about the past, but for the present and the future”.
