Cardinal Levada: 4,000 abuse cases referred to CDF in past decade

February 07, 2012

In an address to a Vatican conference on sexual abuse, Cardinal William Levada said that more than 4,000 cases involving the sexual abuse of minors have been referred to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the past decade.

During his address, Cardinal Levada reviewed the 2001 document Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, which granted the Congregation the authority to address the sexual abuse of minors, and subsequent juridical documents on the punishment of clerics guilty of child sexual abuse.

“For many if not most victims,” he added, “a first need is to be heard, to know that the Church listens to their stories of abuse, that the Church understands the gravity of what they have suffered, that she wants to accompany them on the often long path of healing, and that she has taken or is willing to take effective steps to ensure that other children will be protected from such abuse.”

 

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Further information:

• Cardinal Levada: The Sexual Abuse of Minors: A Multi-faceted Response to the Challenge (Zenit)
• Abuse victims among speakers at Vatican conference on abuse scandal (CWN, 2/6)