Protest launched over clerical sex abuse video game

Madrid, Spain, Apr 17, 2013 / 15:04 pm

Spanish civil rights groups have launched a campaign calling for the removal of a video game based on clerical sex abuse, in which a Pope figure coordinates abuse and tries to avoid being caught by reporters.

The website HazteOir denounced the company RoundGames.com for its March 14 release of "Vatican Quest," an arcade game that "mocks the underage victims of sexual abuse and brings the trend of slamming the Church and Catholics into the video game business."

The video game is being distributed in Spain by Minijuegos.

"Vatican Quest belittles the tragedy of the sexual abuse of minors and mocks its victims" through "a for-profit game for computers and smartphones," HazteOir said.

In the game, the character that represents Benedict XVI has to "bring children dressed as altar boys to cardinals who are waiting for them at the doors of the Vatican palace."

"The cardinals take the children under their arms and disappear into a dark room, closing the doors behind them," the website explained.

Benedict XVI's opponents in the game are "reporters who investigate cases of sexual abuse in the Church."

HazteOir is supporting human rights group Maslibres.org, which has launched a petition calling for the removal of the game.

"The 'Vatican Quest' game for computers and smartphones hurts many people like me for no reason, by portraying Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI as a pimp and the cardinals as pedophiles," a spokesman of the group said.

"To reduce the tragedy of the sexual abuse of minors to a cartoon and to profit from it offends the victims and their families," he explained. "Even satire against Christians and their institutions has a limit."