In addition to an excellent letter from its bishop, Dominique Rey, who had recently returned from a visit to Brazil, the French diocese of Frejus-Toulon has posted the testimony of Fr. Rodrigues, the Pastor of the nine-year-old girl and her family. My own translation of the French version of his testimony (which I imagine is itself a translation of the Portuguese version) is below:
Testimony of Fr. Rodrigues, Pastor of Alagoinha
“What the press doesn’t tell you.”
10 March 2009Our village was shaken by tragic news: a nine-year old child, victim of sexual abuse by her stepfather, was pregnant with twins. Her older sister, age 13, had suffered the same physical abuse. This horrible story had been going on for almost three years.
When the council of Alagoinha discoverer the facts, it tried to put everything in place to help the children and the parents. On February 27, the court entrusted the children to the Medical Institute of Caruaru in the state of Pernambuco. Some other complementary tests were performed (by sexologists, psychologists) afterwards at the Children’s Medical Insitute of Recife. It was at this place that the victim met a social worker by the name of Karolina Rodrigues, and her colleague Marie-José Gomes. This latter refused the hypothesis of abortion in the name of her Christian conscience. Karolina Rodrigues decided to bring the case for this before the council of Alagoinha. The five village councillors refused for the same reasons. They sent their judgment to the Medical Institute of Caruaru. One copy was given to Karolina Rodrigues in my presence and in the presence of the father of the victim, Mr. Erivaldo.
On Febuary 28, I was invited to participate in the council of the Children’s Medical Institute of Recife in company with Marie-José Gomes and two members of our parish. We took advantage of the opportunity to go visit the victim and her mother. They were on the fourth floor of the establishment, in isolated quarters. Access was very restricted. I was obliged to remain in the corridor, but I did manage to speak with the mother of the little girl. She admitted to me that she “had signed some papers.” I was worried, since this woman was illiterate. As she was unable to write her signature, her fingerprints were taken. I asked her what she thought of the proposal of abortion. She showed some very motherly sentiments and above all an extreme preoccupation for her daughter. She answered: “I do not want my daughter to abort…” The mother spoke to me of the state of her daughter’s health: “It’s going well, she is playing with some dolls that people have given her.” We left with the firm conviction that the mother was totally unfavorable to the abortion of her little grandchildren. “No one has the right to kill a person,” she added. “Only God can have command of life…”
On March 2, we returned to the Institute of Recife. We were authorized to ascend to the fourth floor to visit the victim. But, having arrived at the first floor, an official of the institute forbade us from going up any further. He asked us to see the social worker in aonother building. We came face-to-face with Karolina Rodrigues. I was in the company of Marie José Gomes and Mr. Erivaldo, who was opposed to “the abortion of his little grandchildren.” When the social worker discovered my identity, she said in front of everybody: “We are dealing with a medical matter, even if the priest here feels that we are dealing with a moral question.” We asked Karolina Rodrigues about the state of the child’s health. She affirmed that everything was already resolved with the agreement of the mother. The medical procedure would follow its course. She insisted on her critical condition without providing any facts from a doctor’s point of view. She also backed herself with the law: “In this case, the better thing is to save the life of the child.” We answered: “There’s not just one life to save, but three!” She didn’t want to hear any of it. Karolina Rodrigues asked Mr. Erivaldo to speak with him privately. For about 25 minutes. On leaving, this latter revealed to me that he had changed his mind with regard to the abortion. “The social worker has warned me that my daughter was threatened with death… If she is in danger, it is necessary to save her… Even if it means removing the fetuses from her,” he murmured.
Thus, everything seemed finished. It is at this point that the Archbishop of Recife, dom José Cardoso, and the bishop of Pesqueira, dom Francesco Biasin, got involved in the procedure. Monsignor Cardoso convoked a group of doctors, attorneys, psychologists, and lawyers in order to study the legality of this matter. At this meeting on March 3, at the residence of the Archbishop, the director of the Children’s Medical Institute of Recife, Antonio Figueiras, was also present. He publicly acknowledged the pressures that were exerted by Katerina Rodrigues. He contacted the hospital to suspend the abortion.
A little later, the archbishop of Recife received a call from Mr. Figueiras informing him that a feminist group—Curumin—had convinced the mother to accept a transfer of her daughter to another hospital. We returned to the spot with Maria Gomes. They had made her wait under the pretext of the rotation of the teams (the child was already transferred). No one dared tell her anything. How was a person in danger of death able to obtain a permit of leave? How was the state of the victim able to change so rapidly? What could Curumin have said to the mother?
On March 4, we learned that the child was committed to the CISAM hospital (the Amaury and Medeiros General Health Center, specializing in pregancies at risk). This hospital is located in the north of Recife. Our hope of seeing the two babies alive brutally disappeared. All because of a manipulation of conscience and a lack of respect for human life. I have recounted all this so that people may know the truth.
