Kenyan cardinal warns priests: Abuse will be punished
July 02, 2010
“A cleric accused of any moral impropriety of a sexual nature, especially the abuse of minors, will attract penalties as stipulated by the Church law, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state,” Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi told more than 500 priests at a June 30 Mass. After the Mass, Cardinal Njue added: “If one has chosen to be a priest, then a celibate life is a must. It is a sacrifice and as such if one wants to disobey, then forget [the] priesthood.”
The nation’s bishops are distributing new guidelines on the priestly life; the guidelines call on all dioceses to develop policies for the protection of children.
25% of the nation’s 37.2 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics.
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Further information:
- Priests warned over child abuse (Daily Nation)
- Kenyan bishops set guidelines to help priests live spiritual lives (CNS)
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Posted by: -
Jul. 02, 2010 7:51 PM ET USA
Surely it should be "Any cleric FOUND GUILTY of any moral impropriety of a sexual nature..."? Those who are found guilty should rightly be punished, and the cardinal is right to promise penalties to offending clerics...I just hope he is not equating accusation with guilt, as this article seems to imply.
