According to CNN news, Pope Francis made his strongest condemnation yet of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Friday, asking for forgiveness and pledging to impose penalties on "men of the church" who harm children.
"I feel compelled to
personally take on all the evil which some priests -- quite a few in
number, obviously not compared to the number of all the
priests -- to
personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having
sexually abused children," the Pope said in remarks quoted by Vatican
Radio.
"The church is aware of
this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the
church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we
will deal with this problem, and the sanctions that must be imposed,"
Francis continued.
"On the contrary, we have to be even stronger. Because you cannot interfere with children."
The U.S.-based Survivors
Network of those Abused by Priests said it may be the first time a pope
has spoken of sanctioning "complicit bishops."
"But that is all it is: talk," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP's outreach director.
"We beg the world's
Catholics: Be impressed by deeds, not words. Until the Pope takes
decisive action that protects kids, be skeptical and vigilant."
The Pope's new comments, made Friday to members of a Catholic nongovernmental organization, the International Catholic Child Bureau, represent a shift from his previous statements on sexual abuse.
No comments:
Post a Comment