“I feel called to take responsibility for all the evil some priests...have committed and to ask forgiveness for the damage they’ve done [because of] the sexual abuse of children,” Pope Francis said, speaking at the International Catholic Child Bureau meeting in Rome on April 11. “The church is aware of this damage,” he said, and is committed to strengthening child protection programs and punishing offenders. The remarks are among the pope’s strongest on the sex abuse scandal. In December, Pope Francis established a Vatican commission to promote improved child protection policies throughout the church. Meeting with leaders of the International Catholic Child Bureau, an organization based in France and dedicated to defending children’s rights, Pope Francis said it was hard to believe “men of the church” would commit such horrors. “We don’t want to take a step backward in dealing with this problem and with the sanctions that must be imposed,” the pope said. “On the contrary, I believe we must be very strong. You don’t play with children’s lives!”
Pope Apologizes for Clerical Sex Abuse
Show Comments ()
2
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
David Newman
11 years 3 months ago
I am so very thankful for the Holy Fathers courage, so many have been trapped in the prison of shame over this issue the same shame that kept me captive.I have found that open and honest dialog is the only way to bring about healing not to mention understanding " The truth shall make you free" free indeed.
Had I somehow understood this all those years ago much suffering could have been avoided. I thank God daily for the courage to tell the story of one who lived through it.
May God continue to strengthen and guide the Holy Father as he Leads the Church of the risen Lord
David E. Newman "survivor"
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Matter-Confession-David-Newman-ebook/dp/B00GSVJVC8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385052634&sr=8-1&keywords=the+heart+of+the+matter+a+confession
HERBERT ELY MR/MRS
11 years 2 months ago
I appreciate what the Church is doing now. However, as I read the Washington Post I discover that the US military has dismissed or demoted at least 6 flag rang officers for condoning or committing sexual abuse. When we add to this the number of officers punished for financial crimes it appears to me that the military is doing a much better job of holding its leaders to high ethical standards.
The latest from america
Despair is easy for anyone who takes seriously the call to love your neighbor as yourself. But hope can come in two ways.
A Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
The majority of survey respondents cited their Marian devotions as having played an important role in the discernment and living of their call to religious life.
I have questioned the ethical implications of belonging to an institution with so many members sympathetic to MAGA politics. But I can still rediscover the hope of the Eucharist in my parish.