WELLINGTON (NEW ZEALAND)
CathNews
September 25th, 2017
Pope Francis has told the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors he has been learning “on the job” better ways to handle priests found guilty of abuse.
He admitted this during his first face-to-face discussion with the Commission on September 21.
The Pope said he has come to regret agreeing to a more lenient sanction against an Italian priest, rather than laicising him as the doctrinal team recommended.
Two years later the priest abused again. The pope said he has since learned “it’s a terrible sickness” that requires a different approach.
* * *
He said he has decided whoever has been proven guilty of abuse has no right to an appeal, and he will never grant a papal pardon.
The experts on the 15-member Commission have made some suggestions to Pope Francis: [list of nine recommendations]
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.