Pope Francis asks for forgiveness for child sex abuse by priests, says sanctions ‘must be imposed’
Pope Francis has asked for forgiveness for child sex abuse carried out by priests.
The pontiff’s apology, which was reported by Vatican Radio, is his strongest statement on the issue since he was elected last year.
“I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, [but] 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,” he said at a meeting with members of a children’s charity.
“The (Catholic) Church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the Church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we will deal with this problem and the sanctions that must be imposed.
I would really like to believe this is genuine, in some way.
And what does he mean by ‘sanctions’ – this child abusing priests don’t need a slap on the wrists, they need ‘removing’ from the church permanently.
And reporting to the police. Which apparently in Italy, they will not do.
Are these ‘sanctions’ just another excuse to keep the abuse ‘in-house’.
Healing From Complex Trauma & PTSD/CPTSD 
April 12, 2014 at 5:36 am
Its a pedophile’s dream situation. Genuine would be prosecuting these predators and putting them down like animals. That would be genuine.
TjP
http://www.dontlabelmykid.com
April 12, 2014 at 5:54 am
I agree – they should all be prosecuted and face prison, like anyone else.
They really believe they deserve special and different treatment which is scary.
I really want to believe they are trying to be genuine, but I really feel like it isn’t.