Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct 11, 2018 / 09:00 am (CNA).- A Jesuit priest living in the U.K. is facing a call for extradition to South Africa, where he is accused of sexually abusing a teenager in the 1980s.
William Segodisho said at a press conference in Johannesburg Tuesday that he was sexually abused by Fr. William MacCurtain – a priest of the British province of the Society of Jesus – over a period of years during his stay at the Streetwise Children’s Shelter in Johannesburg.
MacCurtain ran the shelter at that time.
MacCurtain is now 84 years old and living in a nursing home in the English city of Bournemouth. According to the Society of Jesus, MacCurtain was removed from ministry in 2001, when the U.K. province was first informed of the allegations against him.
Segodisho said that he was 13 years old when he met MacCurtain, who offered him shelter and protection, even paying for him to attend a private school for a period of time. The abuse, he claimed, was the price of MacCurtain’s help.
Speaking to local press Oct. 9, Segodisho said that although the alleged abuse happened nearly 30 years ago, he felt it was important to speak out about what had happened to him.
“I’ve kept silent for almost three decades, but I’m not getting any younger,” Segodisho said. “Life is unpredictable, and I would hate to take this to the grave. I’ve made a decision to come out into the open and tell the very sordid story of what happened to me.”
Segodisho said the abuse ended in 1989, when he complained to another Jesuit priest and MacCurtain was transferred back to the U.K.
In a statement released by its U.K. province Oct. 10, the Society of Jesus said that the matter “was only reported to the Jesuits in Britain for the first time in 2001. Fr MacCurtain had already returned to the UK in 1990.”
According to the statement, the priest was “immediately withdrawn from all active ministry,” has “never ministered again,” and that “steps have been taken to ensure that at no time since his withdrawal from ministry has he posed any safeguarding risk to children.”
In a letter sent to Segodisho by the Jesuit superior for the U.K. province in January, Fr. Damian Howard, SJ, said that MacCurtain was in “very poor general health.” The provincial said that while he understood Segodisho wanted to receive an apology directly from his alleged abuser, “at the moment, a conversation between you is inadvisable as it is unlikely to be satisfactory for you.”
Fr. Howard wrote that “it is clear to me that Fr. MacCurtain violated the trust placed in him as a Catholic priest.”
“He took advantage of you at an age at when you could not possibly have given your proper consent. In doing so, he showed himself to have little regard for your dignity and to be ready to exploit you for his own gratification,” Howard wrote to Segodisho.
In a statement reported by the BBC, MacCurtain said "I recognise that my behavior towards Segodisho in the 1980s violated the trust he had put in me as a Catholic priest."
"I deeply regret the pain that I have caused Segodisho, and would wish to apologize to him unreservedly. I realize, though, that such an apology cannot right the wrongs done to him at that time, or the suffering that he has endured since," he added, according to the BBC.
The BBC said the priest declined to comment on the possibility of extradition.
The U.K. Jesuit province did not directly address the question of extradition, but said that “the Society of Jesus in Britain is currently aware of an ongoing investigation by the police in South Africa.”
“Working with the Society of Jesus in South Africa we have been in contact with the complainant and his lawyers. Whilst the police investigation continues we do not wish to take any steps which might prejudice that investigation, but we have engaged with the complainant’s lawyers to focus upon his immediate psychological needs.”
Miranda Friedman, a spokeswoman for Women and Men Against Child Abuse, the organization which arranged the press conference for Segodisho, said he had endured "absolute exploitation" and called for MacCurtain to be returned to South Africa to face charges.
"We absolutely demand they give us an answer and with Fr. MacCurtain at 84, they are not going to use old age and health to avoid what they have done," she told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
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Ankara, Turkey, Feb 17, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Turkish authorities have arrested a Syriac Orthodox priest on terrorism chages after the cleric provided bread and water to members of an illegal Kurdish seperatist group.
Monica Biboso and her employer, Ester Rot, while celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) in the dining room of Kibbutz Be’eri in 2022. “I don’t feel like a hero because I saved Ester” during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Biboso told CNA. “I would do anything to save her. I just treated her like my mother. Every child would do the same.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso
Jerusalem, Oct 7, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).
One year has passed since Monica Biboso, a 36-year-old Filipino woman who has worked as a caregiver in Israel for over 10 years, was suddenly awakened by the noise of bombs and gunfire in Kibbutz Be’eri, close to the Gaza border.
In a conversation with CNA, Biboso’s eyes moistened as she recalled that day. Hamas fighters surrounded the house, shattered the windows, and set the home ablaze. She still has nightmares and jumps whenever someone knocks on the door of her room at the David Dead Sea Resort by the Dead Sea, where she has been displaced for the past year.
An outing in Sderot of the caregivers who worked at Kibbutz Be’eri on Sept. 5, 2023. Biboso and her employer were transferred to a hotel on the Dead Sea, along with the surviving residents of Kibbutz Be’eri, after the attack on Oct. 7, 2023. About 10 of Biboso’s colleagues joined them, while two died in the attack and five returned to the Philippines. Credit: Monica Biboso
During the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel that took the lives of almost 1,200 people, 101 civilians were killed in Be’eri and 30 hostages were taken to Gaza, 11 of whom are still being held in captivity.
Biboso not only survived, but she also managed to protect the elderly lady she was caring for — Ester Rot, who is 81 and has dementia. They were the only two survivors from their neighborhood.
“I have never stopped praying because I have always believed that God was there,” Biboso, a Catholic, told CNA. “All the time, I prayed to God and asked him that if my time had come, he would at least protect my children. But God did not want to call me yet, and I survived.”
Biboso is married to a fellow countryman she met in Israel who had returned to the Philippines just a few days before Oct. 7. The couple has two children, ages 7 and 5, who are growing up in the Philippines under the care of Biboso’s sister.
Monica Biboso with her family in the Philippines in April 2024: her husband, Roberto; her daughter, Sofya; and her son, Clarence. In the first few hours of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre by Hamas, she managed to stay in touch with them, then her cellphone ran out of power. “When I was able to turn my phone back on, I found video messages from my children, crying, kissing and telling me to take care of myself.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso
In the first few hours of being locked in the house’s safe room, Biboso stayed in touch with her family, her Filipino colleagues in the kibbutz, and Rot’s children, but then her cellphone battery died.
“When I was able to turn my phone back on, I found video messages from my children, crying, kissing, and telling me to take care of myself,” she recalled.
Biboso, who was locked in the shelter with Rot for 16 hours, has been trying to forget the experience, but from the start it was clear it would never be possible.
“All the time, I carry my bag with my documents and important things. I am afraid of losing them again. Every night before going to sleep, I need to check outside and lock the door.”
For the past year, Biboso has been undergoing psychological therapy, which is helping her cope with the memories, fear, anguish, and nightmares — and to talk about what she went through.
“When I heard the sirens, I woke Mrs. Ester up, changed her, and dressed her quickly. I gave her her medicine and something to help her sleep, and we took refuge in the safe room of the house. I understood that the situation was serious, as I could hear the gunshots getting closer and closer,” Biboso recounted to CNA.
The closed caption television cameras that Rot’s children had previously installed in the house showed Hamas militants coming and going until they managed to break into the house.
Screenshot of camera footage from Ester Rot’s home at 10:51 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Be’eri, where Monica Biboso lived and worked as a caregiver for the elderly woman. Two armed men can be seen in the lower left of the screen near the home. Around 11 a.m., Hamas fighters managed to break into the house by blasting a hole with explosives. Shortly afterward they set fire to the house. Credit: Courtesy of Monica Biboso
“For the entire time I was locked in the shelter, I kept praying and saying to God, ‘Help us, I know it’s impossible to save us, but I know you can save us.’”
Around 11 a.m., the Hamas fighters broke into the house by blasting a hole with explosives.
“Maybe God heard me because they couldn’t open the shelter door. I was holding the handle from the inside. He gave me incredible strength.”
The door to the shelter where Monica Biboso and her employer, Ester Rot, were barricaded for 16 hours during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, Oct. 7, 2023. The photo was taken by Biboso when she had the chance to return and check the situation in January 2024. “For the entire time I was locked in the shelter, I kept praying and saying to God, ‘Help us, I know it’s impossible to save us, but I know you can save us,’” Biboso told CNA. “Maybe God heard me because they couldn’t open the shelter door. I was holding the handle from the inside. He gave me incredible strength.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso
Then they set fire to the house.
“We could barely breathe, it was so hot. We had no water, no food, nothing. I thought we were going to die, but I kept praying.”
When asked how she was able to survive, Biboso said: “God saved me. No one was able to help us. I was weak, I couldn’t breathe, my body was shaking, and I was lying on the floor, but I kept praying. Because of him, I survived. I truly believe that. He was with me the entire time I was in the shelter. I could feel it. Without God, I wouldn’t be here.”
The living room of Ester Rot’s home in Kibbutz Be’eri, where Monica Biboso lived and worked as a caregiver for the elderly woman. The house was completely burned down during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The photo was taken by Biboso when she had the chance to return in January 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso
Biboso and Rot spent a day in the hospital, then they were transferred to a hotel on the Dead Sea along with the surviving residents of Kibbutz Be’eri. About 10 of Biboso’s colleagues were among them. (Two others died in the attack and five returned to the Philippines.)
“Together with my husband, we decided it was best for me to stay, at least for the time being. I could never have left Mrs. Ester or allowed her to end up in a nursing home after surviving all this. She is like a mother to me,” said Biboso, who lost her own mother at the age of 16.
“I don’t feel like a hero because I saved Mrs. Ester,” Biboso added. “I would do anything to save her. I just treated her like my mother. Every child would do the same.”
“I knew that if I wanted to have any chance of healing and overcoming this trauma, I could only do it here,” she said. “In Israel, psychologists could help me because they understand the context.”
Ultimately, economic reasons also motivated Biboso to stay. Currently, her salary is the only stable income for her family, whom she was able to reunite with for some weeks in April.
Life at the hotel follows a fairly regular routine. “When we get up, I help Mrs. Ester with breakfast, give her a bath, take her for a walk, and do exercises. After lunch, we rest. When I can’t sleep, I crochet. It helps me relax.” Sometimes the two walk along the sea, take a swim, and spend time with friends.
Four months after Oct. 7, Biboso visited Kibbutz Be’eri together with Rot’s children. “It was very hard. I couldn’t stay there for long.” The house was completely destroyed by the flames.
“All my things were burned, everything was reduced to ashes,” Biboso recounted, “But my rosary didn’t burn. I found it beside my bed. It was a little burnt, but the beads were intact, and the cross was still a cross. My husband gave it to me and I used to pray with it every day before sleeping. I know I’m safe because of it.”
Monica Biboso’s rosary, the only one of her belongings left intact after the home of Ester Rot, the elderly woman she cared for and where she also lived in Kibbutz Be’eri, was set on fire by Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. “All my things were reduced to ashes,” Biboso recounted, “but my rosary didn’t burn. My husband gave it to me and I used to pray with it every day before sleeping. I know I’m safe because of it.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso
To this day, every night, Bibosa prays the rosary before bedtime. “In the Philippines, when my mother was alive, every day at 6 o’clock we prayed the rosary together before having dinner. I kept doing it.”
After Oct. 7, a nun living in Tel Aviv called Biboso every day, and they prayed together. “She’s helped me a lot. If I can’t sleep, I call her, and we pray together over the phone.”
“Prayer is a big help to me in healing, lightening the burden on my heart, and freeing my mind from negative thoughts,” Biboso said.
Ester Rot, the elderly woman with whom Monica Biboso works as a caregiver, on the shore of the Dead Sea. After surviving the massacre carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, the two were displaced to the David Dead Sea Resort along with the other surviving residents of Kibbutz Be’eri. Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso
In mid-October, Biboso and Rot are expected to move to Kibbutz Hatzerim, where new housing units have been built for the Be’eri survivors.
“First, you need to have faith in God and be thankful for everything,” Biboso said. “You just need to trust him, and he will make a way to save you. This war will also end because of him. He will find a way to bring good out of it all.”
Father Rafiq Khoury at the beginning of the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity shows the first three volumes of the "ecumenical catechism" that was adopted in 2000 by public schools of the Palestinian Authority as a textbook for C… […]
1 Comment
The scandal has even reached my beloved homeland. But I have to give credit to the British Jesuits for being forthright in condemning the despicable conduct by one of their members.
The scandal has even reached my beloved homeland. But I have to give credit to the British Jesuits for being forthright in condemning the despicable conduct by one of their members.
MacCurtain should be extradited to face trial.