Pope Pledges to ‘personally Take On’ Scandal of Clergy Sex Abuse

By Joel Connelly
Seattle PI
April 11, 2014

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/04/11/pope-pledges-to-personally-take-on-scandal-of-clergy-sex-abuse/

[with video]

Pope pledges to ‘personally take on’ scandal of clergy sex abuse

Pope Francis, in unscripted remarks Friday, promised that the Vatican will more more directly confront the “evil” of clergy sex abuse of children.

“I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil that some priests — quite a few in number, though not compared to the total number — and to ask forgiveness for the damage done by sexually abusing clergy,” the pontiff said in a meeting with leaders of the International Catholic Child Bureau, a French Catholic group.

“”The church is aware of this damage,” he added. ”It is personal and moral damage, but carried out by men of the church. And we do not want to take one step backward in dealing with this problem and the sanctions that must be imposed. On the contrary, I have to be very firm. Because you cannot take chances with children.”

The pope pledged late last year that a commission will work out uniform policies for Catholic dioceses around the world in dealing with the abuse crisis.

In the United States, much of the problem arose from the transfer of “problem” priests from parish to parish. As well, even when bishops have named expert panels, dioceses have not been forthcoming and recommendations were ignored.

Francis has partially filled out the commission. More than half of his appointees are women. One, Marie Collins from Ireland, is a whistle blower who was sexually abused as a girl by a priest.

It has been 13 years since the clergy sex abuse scandal broke in the United States. The scandal, and coverups, have caused thousands in Europe to abandon the Catholic Church, particularly in such Catholic countries as Ireland and Austria.