No turning back in fight against child abuse, Pope vows
April 11, 2014
The Church “will not take one step backward” in efforts to punish those who abuse children, Pope Francis promised in an April 11 address to the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE).
The Pontiff vowed to continue with “the sanctions that must be imposed,” and said in fact they “have to be even stronger,” to ensure the safety of children. Voicing his regret for the violations by some priests, he said:
I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children.In his remarks to BICE the Pope also condemned slave labor, the exploitation of children as soldiers, and all other forms of violence against children. He affirmed that every child has the natural right to live “with a father and a mother” in a secure family environment.
The Holy Father also decried educational experiments designed to instill a certain ideology. He said: “The horrors of the manipulation of education that we experienced in the great genocidal dictatorships of the 20th century have not disappeared.” The same tendencies, he said, can be found in plans that “with the pretense of modernity,” try to promote “only one form of thought.” Breaking from his prepared text, the Pope said that he had recently spoken with a teacher who remarked: “I don’t know if we’re sending the kids to school or a re-education camp.”
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Further information:
- Francis Receives in Audience the International Catholic Child Bureau: The Church Will Take No Step Backwards in Sanctions Against Child Abusers (VIS)
- Pope Francis on clerical sexual abuse: Not one step back (Vatican Radio)
- Pope apologises for clerical abuse (ANSA)
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- Posted by: Kansas Girl - Apr. 14, 2014 3:20 PM ET USA
I so agree with John that we should not ordain men with same-sex attraction. Though some of these men can and do lead chaste lives, the temptation arising from working with post-pubescent males is great. It would be like a heterosexual man, unmarried, constantly being around teenage girls, some of whom being very attractive and seductive. Few of the sex-abuse cases dealt with small boys and fewer yet with girls. That fact should be noted, recognized and dealt with, and it has not been.
- Posted by: John J Plick - Apr. 13, 2014 9:22 AM ET USA
And where does clerical homosexuality fit into this...? Answer...., it doesn't... And that is the problem, Energy that should be focused on purging the clergy of active homosexuals and inappropriate homosexual "advocacy" is diverted..., diverted towards a "problem" that is of far lesser magnitude.
- Posted by: hartwood01 - Apr. 12, 2014 5:57 PM ET USA
Does that mean the bishops who sheltered these crooks get a pass,only today's perps will be disciplined?
