ROME
CNN
February 20, 2019
By Daniel Burke
For the first time in Catholic history, nearly 200 church leaders from around the world will gather at the Vatican starting Thursday to confront the scourge of clergy who sexually abuse children.
The unprecedented, four-day summit, convened by Pope Francis last September, will include two speeches by the Pope, talks outlining best practices, small group discussions among bishops and a penitential ceremony involving abuse survivors.
“We must look this monster in the face without fear if we really want to conquer it,” said Alessandro Gisotti, a Vatican spokesman.
But as nearly every day brings new revelations about secrets and scandals at the heart of the Catholic Church, it seems as if the monster confronting the church only grows larger.
• Earlier this month, the Pope for the first time called the sexual abuse of nuns by Catholic clergy a “problem,” even saying that some women had been sexually enslaved by religious men.
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.