FIGHT WITH SEXUAL ABUSING CHILDREN
Interview by Włodzimierz Rędzioch
‘140 million girls and 75 million boys all over the world fall the victims of sexual abuse. In the very ‘industry’ of pedo-pornography dozens of million children are used and money of this disgraceful business reach dozens of milliard euro. The victims of pedophiles are children aged 0 – 13 years old – from 0 as there are cases of sexual harassment of infants!’. When Janusz Kotański, the ambassador of the Republic of Poland for the Holy See, heard these terrifying data from Fr. Fortunat Di Noto, the founder and chairman of the ‘Meter’ Association, he was deeply shocked. So he began a cooperation with this Sicilian priest, who – together with a group of volunteers – has been fighting with the phenomenon of pedophilia, monitoring Internet in search for pedo-pornographic websites all over the world. During a talk with the ambassador Fr. Fortunato emphasized that effective fighting against sexual abuse on Internet requires a close cooperation with police all over the world, because police is responsible also for fighting against cyber-criminality. Ambassador Kotański immediately contacted the supreme authorities of the Polish police which expressed their consent to cooperate with ‘Meter’ in a fight with children’s pornography. The result of this decision is signing an agreement about cooperation between the Main Police Station of the Republic of Poland represented by the main commander superintendent dr. Jarosław Szymczyk and the ‘Meter’ Association represented by its founder and chairman Fr. Fortunat Di Noto, on 22 November 2017 in the headquarter of the Polish Embassy in Rome.
This is an important event became an occasion to talk with Fr. Di Noto on the significance of this agreement. What is the agreement between the Main Police Station of the Republic of Poland and the ‘Meter’ Association?
Fr. Fortunato Di Noto: - This is an agreement consisting of 7 paragraphs whose aim is fighting against sexual abusing children on Internet. Cooperation of the Polish police with the ‘Meter’ will be based on the fact that our association is to provide information about illegal contents on Internet with participation of the under-aged, and also about their users in Poland. We will send date to a special address of the Polish police, which will be at disposal of the Office of Fight with Cyber-criminality. All information gained and passed by the ‘Meter’ Association will be used by Polish functionaries of police according to legislation binding in the Republic of Poland.
Why is this agreement so important?
The agreement is a particular answer to the necessity of international cooperation and global actions against pedophilia, children’s pornography on Internet and violence towards children. Our agreement is the first one of this kind and is an operational model. This is a very important thing as the fight with crimes against children requires effectiveness, quick action and particular operations. Therefore I would like to thank Mr. ambassador Janusz Kotański for diplomatic mediation which led to this important agreement.
Can the agreement made between the Police of the Republic of Poland and the ‘Meter’ be an example for the police of other countries?
Certainly. This agreement is an important impulse and can be used as an example for other countries. I hope that it will happen so, as cooperating in the global scale, one can effectively counteract the most disgraceful crime which is sexual abusing children!
AA
„Niedziela” 48/2018