ROME
Religion News Service
By Josephine McKenna
ROME (RNS) Despite turmoil on the commission he created to deal with sex abuse in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is committed “to rooting out the scourge,” Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley said.
O’Malley, who heads the panel, spoke Thursday (March 23) to an international conference on the subject in Rome. He said the church was committed to carrying out the pope’s directive despite recent complaints that the commission’s work was being obstructed by the Vatican itself.
“There is simply no justification in our day for failures to enact concrete safeguarding standards for our children, young men and women, and vulnerable adults,” O’Malley said.
“We are called to reform and renew all the institutions of our church. … And we certainly must address the evil of sexual abuse by priests.”
The conference, organized by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was titled “Safeguarding in homes and schools.” It included presentations from academics, clergy and experts from South America, Australia and Italy.
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