Pope: Stopping child sexual abuse key to 'credibility' of Catholic Church
Updated 1 minute ago
By Philip Pullella, Reuters
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to "act decisively" to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished, the Vatican said on Friday.
Francis, in a meeting with the Holy See's doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important "for the Church and its credibility", a statement said.
Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over priestly abuse of children. It was believed to be the first time Francis had taken up the issue of sex abuse with a senior member of his staff since his election on March 13.
Muller is head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department which includes the office of the "promoter of justice", or sex crimes prosecutor, which investigates cases of sexual abuse and decides if priests are to be defrocked.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/05/17614945-pope-stopping-child-sexual-abuse-key-to-credibility-of-catholic-church?lite
Scuba
(53,475 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)So any Priest who engaged in a criminal act, or failed to report that act, must turn in his robes and turn himself into legal authorities. Anything less is condoning the acts and their coverup.
He's the Pope for crying out loud.
rug
(82,333 posts)It's highly unlikely their behavior would change simply because someone, including the Pope, tells them to. Not to mention voluntarily surrendering to a long prison term.
Reporting is key. Sex abuse is a criminal matter, not a matter of church discipline, as the Vatican belatedly realizes. That is how the Church gravely compounded the harm in the first place.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Obviously.
What may be less obvious to you is that you're in a safe haven group.
If you want to start a pissing contest I'll see you in the Religion group.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)But we both know where they're going.
goldent
(1,582 posts)Thanks to both of you
goldent
(1,582 posts)At least in my experience, there are lots of procedures now in the Church to try to prevent abuse (training/certification, rules about gatherings, etc). But this needs to be coupled with top-down policy and action.
mykpart
(3,879 posts)Identifying and treating priests who have molested children is the first step. Telling a criminal to turn himself in doesn't always result in the criminal obeying that directive. Why would he? No problem with keeping accusations quiet while they are being investigated either. That's like gathering evidence before arresting someone. I see the biggest problem as having enough priests to serve the parishes if priests are "defrocked." But that may again result in an overhaul of the seminaries and the issue of priestly celibacy. At any rate, I am once again feeling optimistic about my church, as I once did during the 60s and 70s.