Fr. Hirotsugu Inoue
OSAKA, Feb. 5 (AP) – (Kyodo)—A 74-year-old Japanese Catholic priest was arrested Thursday on suspicion of repeatedly molesting a female parishioner at a church in Osaka Prefecture despite her rejections.
Hirotsugu Inoue, a priest at a church in the city of Ibaraki, has admitted to forcibly kissing and hugging the 43-year-old woman about 70 times between October to December last year, but denied his acts amounted to indecency, according to police.
“There is no doubt that I did this, but it was not an act of indecent assault,” he was quoted as telling the police.
According to investigations, Inoue approached the woman in a church kitchen, whispering “I love you” on one occasion, and proceeded to hug her despite her rejections.
The police also suspect that Inoue kissed the woman’s daughter.
They have also received several phone calls from people saying, “I was molested by Inoue” and plan to investigate these cases as well.
The Catholic Osaka Archdiocese, which oversees churches in Osaka and other nearby prefectures, has launched its own investigation into the case and is considering taking disciplinary steps against the priest.
This article in Japanese says he started working at the church in Ibaraki in 2002. Before that he was teaching at various universities. I hope he was not teaching ethics! One place he taught at was Kobe Kaisei College website a women`s university. Another is St Thomas University a co-ed school website
If he is guilty lock him up for good not that he has much of a life left but whats left of it can be spent behind bars. I am tired of scandals caused by priests and care more about quality than quantity and think seminaries should see it the same way. Besides if justice is not served in this life it will be in the next.
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