VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post
December 21, 2018
By Carol Kuruvilla
Pope Francis has urged priests who have raped and molested children to turn themselves in and prepare for “divine justice,” in his strongest condemnations yet of the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis.
The pope pledged that the church would “never again” cover up or dismiss sexual abuse cases.
“To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” Francis said during his Christmas address to the Curia, the Vatican’s central administration, Reuters reported.
The pope admitted that the church had failed to act on this issue in the past, acknowledging that leaders refused to believe victims.
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