The Pope has written to all the bishops of the Church asking them to renew their commitment to safeguarding children.
In a letter released by the Vatican on Monday but sent on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December), Francis implored leaders of the Church to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to child sexual abuse so that “such crimes may never be repeated”.
“Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity,” he said, referring to the many clergy convicted of sexual abuse in recent decades.
“We regret this deeply and we beg forgiveness. We join in the pain of the victims and weep for this sin. The sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power. The Church also weeps bitterly over this sin of her sons and she asks forgiveness,” he said.
Since his election Pope Francis has identified the protection of children as one of the Church’s priorities, but critics say he has not gone far enough.
Just last month police in Argentina arrested two priests suspected of sustained abuse against more than 20 children in a special needs school.
"We have to ask ourselves: the pope, who was for many years the primate of the Argentine church, did he know nothing about clerical abuse in his country?", said a group campaigning for justice for victims in a statement sent to Associated Press news agency after the arrests.
READ MORE: Q&A WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE FOR CHILD PROTECTION IN ROME
In the same letter the Pope spoke more generally about the plight of children across the world, especially the millions facing poverty, sexual exploitation and slavery. “We hear these children and their cries of pain” he said, asking bishops to “embrace and protect human life, especially that of the holy innocents of our own day”.
Loading ...
