Pope “shares the Pain” of Wrongly Accused Priests; SNAP Responds

SNAP
March 6, 2014

http://www.snapnetwork.org/rome_pope_shares_the_pain_of_wrongly_accused_priests_snap_responds

A newspaper in southern Italy reports that Pope Francis told a group of priests he considers “falsely accused” that he “shares their pain.”

[gazzettadelsud.it]

If true, the pontiff is now rubbing even more salt into the wounds of suffering victims and betrayed Catholics. Hundreds of thousands of children have been sexually violated by clergy. A tiny fraction of clergy have been “falsely accused.” A number of Catholic officials have made this clear.

“Fewer than two percent of sexual abuse allegations against the Catholic church appear to be false,” according to BishopAccountability.org

[bishop-accountability.org]

The Pope should have made this clear. He should do so now. Until he does, he is again moving backwards on abuse and making the crisis worse by mischaracterizing and minimizing it.