Pope Francis: Sexual Abuse in the Church is More Prevalent Than Anywhere Else

The leader of Catholics worldwide called on the Church to combat sexual abuse severely. The Pope pledged to end the Church’s cover-up in this regard and to deal with each case seriously. Critics, however, said the Church has not taken practical steps.

The four-day conference on combating sexual abuse opened on Thursday, February 21 (Esfand 2) at the Vatican with a speech by the Pope and concluded on Sunday, February 24 with an address by the leader of Catholics worldwide.

The conference was held so that senior Church officials from around the world could find mechanisms to prevent and combat sexual harassment and child sexual abuse.

Sexual abuses in Catholic Churches have severely damaged the reputation of the Church and Christians worldwide. For this reason, Pope Francis ordered representatives of the Catholic Church from different countries to address this issue at a conference in the Vatican.

At the special Vatican meeting, 190 bishops and senior representatives of Catholic Churches from around the world participated. All were waiting for the closing remarks of the four-day meeting by Pope Francis.

The leader of Catholics worldwide emphasized: “Sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church is more prevalent and serious than in other sectors of society.”

Pope Francis described the phenomenon of sexual abuse as evil and said that although it prevails around the world, its ugliness within the Church is more damaging because the Church possesses a kind of moral credibility. The Pope also said that a priest who sexually abuses children is “an instrument of Satan.”

The leader of Catholics worldwide stressed that no victim should be forgotten, as has been customary in the past.

Australian Bishop: Victims Are Not Enemies

Although Pope Francis made severe criticisms of the Church and sexual abuses, particularly child sexual abuse, in his speech, he did not take specific steps regarding how the Church would prevent these abuses.

Other bishops also spoke at the four-day Vatican meeting. Mark Coleridge, the Australian bishop, called in his speech for better protection of Church victims. He said that the victim is not the Church, but individuals who have been subjected to sexual assault and harassment. He also reminded that these victims have been regarded as enemies. The Australian bishop continued that if the Church can deal properly with sexual abuses, a new chapter will begin in its mission.

Cardinal Marx: End Cover-ups of Sexual Assault

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the highest official of the Catholic Church in Germany, also referred at the Vatican meeting to files and documents that revealed “horrific actions,” but either disappeared or did not mention the names of those responsible for these actions.

Reinhard Marx proposed that the Church take four measures to restore trust in itself: “Reorganize regulations regarding confidential and non-confidential documents. Align its legal system with public standards. Announce statistics and details of abuse cases and publicly disclose court files.”

Sexual Abuse Victims’ Reaction to the Pope’s Speech

Matthias Katsch from the victims support association in Germany, in a critical response to the Pope’s speech on Twitter, called for “serious and real changes.” He stressed in his tweet: “The Pope’s speech was a shameless attempt to position itself at the forefront of the (victims’ protest movement), but this is not possible without confessing sins and without accepting defeat.”

Many proposals and ideas were raised at this four-day Vatican meeting, but participants in the conference did not adopt binding decisions.

The four-day Vatican conference, which was held to find a way to prevent sexual abuse by the Church, ended on Sunday, February 24 without adopting a final statement.

Source: DW