INDIA
Mumbai Mirror
By Jyoti Shelar, Mumbai Mirror | Jun 6, 2016
The simmering anger among city’s Catholic community triggered by the arrest of a priest from Govandi on the charge of sexually assaulting a teenaged boy has begun to intensify following an announcement that Pope Francis has approved measures to sack bishops for mishandling child sexual abuse cases.
While Lawrence Johnson, 51, is facing an FIR and behind bars for the past six months, community members are questioning why the churchman is still not disrobed. “Cardinal Oswald Gracias who is archbishop of Bombay has to act fast and push for this. If there is a First Information Report (FIR) filed against apriest for such misdeed, why should they wait for anything to rusticate of disrobe him,” said a 76-year-old Cletus Gomes from Bandra.
Another parishioner from Mahim, A M Sodder, said that Vatican is like an appellate authority, but action has to be taken by the archbishop. “By now, he should have taken a decision.”
Bishops who are “negligent” in dealing with priests committing abuse will be removed under the new legal procedures, Vatican announced on Saturday.
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