Clergy Abuse Survivors Respond to Catholic Conclave

Survivors Voice
March 12, 2013

http://www.survivorsvoice.org/

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This week, as the conclave to elect the next Pope of the Roman Catholic Church begins, people from around the globe continue to wonder and ask “Who will be elected as the next Pope”?

 As this question has been asked over and over again for the past several weeks, Survivors of clergy abuse from around the world continue to wait, as well.

We are not waiting to find out who will be elected as the next Pope. We are waiting for the world to join us and finally start asking the right questions.

The question of who the next pope will be pales in comparison to the question of what the next pope will do. While former Pope Benedict officially called the sexual abuse by clergy of children a “crime”, he failed to remove those who committed those crimes, and those who harbored those criminals.

In order protect future generations of children from abuse, and in order to repair the damage done to yesterday and today’s generation of clergy abuse survivors from around the world, we need to stop asking “Who will the next Pope?” … we need to begin asking “What will the next Pope do”.?

Will the next Pope, remove from ministry the priests who abused children?

Will the next Pope, hold accountable the bishops who protected abusive priests and who failed to protect children?

Will the next Pope finally begin to engage the survivor community and begin filling the obligation of repairing the damage done to thousand of clergy abuse survivors from around the world?

Will the next Pope change the culture of self preservation for one of child protection?

If the measure of our society is based on the protection of our children, then the question of who will walk through centuries old doors of the Sistine Chapel as the next Pope, is not as important as will the next pope have the courage to walk through the door which survivors from around the world have courageously opened for the first time in centuries.