Shock after new revelations of sexual abuse by Piarist priest in Senegal

The Catholic commission defending minors sexually abused in the Catholic Church in Senegal Church has revealed new cases of sexual abuse committed by a member of the Piarist religious order. In the Diocese of Ziguinchor, where the accused operated for more than a decade, the faithful and local populations remain in shock.

“We feel almost guilty for having lacked vigilance as parents,” said André Manga, reeling from the revelations of sexual abuse committed by Piarist clergy in Mlomp, his village in southern Senegal. “It is shocking to learn that such things happened here, right under our noses, without us suspecting anything,” lamented the Sacred Heart parishioner.

Between 1992 and 2005, several Senegalese children aged eight to 12 were victims of “sexual abuse” by Josep Maria Canet, a Piarist religious, according to a statement released late November. The statement was jointly issued by the Commission for the Defense of Minors Sexually Abused in the Church of Senegal and the Piarist Province of Catalonia (Spain), part of the Order of the Pious Schools, founded in 1617 by Spanish Father Joseph Calasanz to educate poor children and commonly known as the “Piarists.”

The commission collected complaints against this priest during an investigation launched last year against Manel Sales Castellà, another member of the congregation also accused of sexually abusing minors. Castellà served as a parish priest in Saint Joseph Calasanz of Diembering and Sacred Heart of Mlomp parishes. He was called back to Spain (Catalonia), where he was prohibited from any activities with minors and underwent psychiatric treatment. The Holy See dismissed Castellà from the clerical state in 2019.

Since June 2023, when accusations against Canet were first revealed, several alleged victims have come forward to share testimonies and provide new information. The investigation was initiated when Canet was removed from office in 2023.

“The new complaints have been studied and verified by an external team of three professional experts in law, criminology, and psychology,” the statement explained. This team, which interviewed “two of the victims and the perpetrator,” confirmed “similar accounts.” According to the experts, the incidents “reported by the victims constitute acts of sexual abuse of minors under the laws in force in Senegal and Spain at the time.”

“Both committed their crimes at the boarding school”

During that period, Canet was the director of the Joseph Faye boarding school in Oussouye, in the Diocese of Ziguinchor. “He engaged in sexual contact with several students of the school as well as minors from the community,” the statement said. “These practices are contrary to religious commitments and constitute abuse of authority and power. The young victims were in a position of subordination and dependence on him and the Piarist order. Furthermore, he exposed them to the risk of imprisonment, as homosexuality is considered a crime in Senegal.”

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According to victim accounts cited in the statement, “Josep Maria Canet was aware of the sexual abuse of minors also committed by the Piarist Manel Sales, which he covered up. Both committed these crimes at the Joseph Faye Boarding School in Oussouye and in other towns in the area, where they invited minors to leisure activities with them.”

The Commission for the Defense of Minors Sexually Abused in the Church of Senegal and the Piarist order have reported this information to the Catalonia prosecutor's office and the relevant authorities in Senegal. “The Piarists have also informed ecclesiastical authorities,” the statement added.

“These revelations strike us hard”

Already shocked by the initial accusations, the new revelations regarding Canet have stunned Catholic parishioners in the communities where these missionaries served for many years. Albert Diatta, a father, expressed his “horror and shame” and struggled to understand how “the congregation could have hidden such abuse of minors for so long.” “We always believed these missionaries were kind to the children they were so close to. But sadly, these revelations strike us hard,” he said.

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Adriana Diatta, also a member of the same parish, expressed her “astonishment and incomprehension” upon learning of the information confirmed by the commission and shared in the media. “It is incomprehensible that these clergymen, who came to preach God’s word, abused the innocence of children to commit such acts,” she said.

Diédhiou, a teacher at the Joseph Faye school at the time, struggled to believe the revelations. “I never imagined such practices occurred here,” he said, expressing “solidarity” with the victims. He noted that “these minors, now adults, must be finding it extremely difficult to cope with these revelations.” The teacher highlighted the “conservative nature” of the society in which the victims live, making these revelations “even harder to accept.”

“We ask forgiveness from the victims”

In its statement, the Piarist order “publicly acknowledges the described acts committed in Senegal” based on testimonies and information gathered by the commission and “verified by the team of experts.”

It expressed “absolute indignation, outrage, and disgust for these acts, which have no possible justification in their work,” and seeks “forgiveness from all victims, families, and Senegalese communities for the harm caused by the Piarist order.”

As per their commitment following the first revelations in June 2023, the Piarists affirmed their attention to the victims of abuse committed by members of their order in Senegal and their intent to repair the harm done.