A prominent Greek priest running one of the country’s best-known child charities was convicted Thursday of beating minors in his care, along with four other staff, justice sources said.
Father Antonios Papanikolaou, the founder of the Ark of the World charity, was handed a 51-month sentence by an Athens misdemeanour court, as a moral accessory to beatings.
His staff were given sentences of between 17 and 40 months.
All those sentenced walked free pending appeal. Three other defendants were acquitted.
The 53-year-old cleric vehemently denies all charges.
“I am innocent and remain innocent,” he said.
Greek prosecutors in November 2022 opened a probe into the Ark of the World after numerous claims of alleged abuse and financial mismanagement.
The Ark has worked with underprivileged children for at least two decades in Athens and several other parts of Greece.
One 19-year-old told police that he was allegedly sexually molested by a senior charity official, according to media reports at the time.
One former staffer said that he was fired after speaking out after a co-worker allegedly beat three boys.
Others have claimed that charity executives demanded monetary donations instead of clothes and food, and in turn lived lives of luxury.
The charity had been claiming to have some 500 children in its care, but a government official said that the actual number was 136.
The non-profit had received millions of euros and dozens of properties from private donors over more than two decades, according to media reports.
The head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Archbishop Ieronymos, has sought to distance the church from the priest, saying Papanikolaou was “solely responsible” for running the charity and that he “never consented” to cooperate with church welfare officials.
In 2018, the Ark of the World was among 50 individuals and organisations from 26 EU countries to receive the annual European Citizen’s Prize, an award for initiatives that promote integration and tolerance.
The Ark had also received numerous domestic awards, including from the Athens Academy in 2008.
Source: AFP
