Pope Francis has opened a high-level summit of church leaders on preventing clergy sex abuse, hoping to impress on bishops from around the world that the problem is global and requires a global response.
The four-day meeting at the Vatican began early Thursday with prayers and was to feature speeches, tutorials and workshops on protecting children, preventing abuse and stopping cover-ups.
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Pope Francis has opened a high-level summit of church leaders on preventing clergy sex abuse, hoping to impress on bishops from around the world that the problem is global and requires a global response.
Francis has made the same mistakes. He finally did an about-face after botching a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year.
Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org group, holds up a photo of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the archbishop of Houston-Galveston and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, during a press conference at the foreign press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. DiNardo has been accused by victims of downplaying their accusations against Rev. Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who was charged in September with four counts of indecency with a child and has been criticized for allowing the Rev. John T. Keller, to celebrate Mass even though later in the day his name appeared on a list released by the church of credibly accused priests. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
BishopAccountability.org group director Phil Saviano, left, and co-director Anne Barrett Doyle, attends a press conference at the foreign press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
BishopAccountability.org group director Phil Saviano, left, and co-director Anne Barrett Doyle, attend a press conference at the foreign press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia and 20 years after it hit the U.S., bishops and other Catholic superiors in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia either deny that clergy sex abuse exists or downplay the problem.
Doris Wagner, former nun, survivor, theologian and author, attends the press conference "Voices of Faith, women's abuse survivors' group: Overcoming", at the Foreign Press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. Pope Francis is hosting a four-day summit on preventing clergy sexual abuse, a high-stakes meeting designed to impress on Catholic bishops around the world that the problem is global and that there are consequences if they cover it up. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
Francis has made the same mistakes. He finally did an about-face after botching a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year.
Doris Wagner, former nun, survivor, theologian and author, attends the press conference "Voices of Faith, women's abuse survivors' group: Overcoming" at the Foreign Press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. At left is Regina Franken-Wendelstorf, researcher, lecturer and former member of the Third Order of the Dominicans. Pope Francis is hosting a four-day summit on preventing clergy sexual abuse, a high-stakes meeting designed to impress on Catholic bishops around the world that the problem is global and that there are consequences if they cover it up. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org group, holds up a photo of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the archbishop of Houston-Galveston and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, during a press conference at the foreign press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. DiNardo has been accused by victims of downplaying their accusations against Rev. Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who was charged in September with four counts of indecency with a child and has been criticized for allowing the Rev. John T. Keller, to celebrate Mass even though later in the day his name appeared on a list released by the church of credibly accused priests. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
BishopAccountability.org group director Phil Saviano, left, and co-director Anne Barrett Doyle, attends a press conference at the foreign press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
BishopAccountability.org group director Phil Saviano, left, and co-director Anne Barrett Doyle, attend a press conference at the foreign press association in Rome, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)