Pope Francis said during a meeting with diocesan representatives in Rome on Saturday that sexual abuse within the Catholic Church cannot be covered up or silenced.
“There cannot be silence or obfuscation on the issue of abuse. This issue is not negotiable,” the leader of Catholics stressed, in an audience with representatives of the dioceses of the Conference of Italian Bishops.
“It is important to seek the truth and restore justice within the ecclesial community, even when conduct is not considered a crime in national law, but a crime in ecclesiastical law.” he emphasized.
Sexual abuse is “a painful reality,” Francisco said, outlining three actions to take: “protect, listen and heal.”
Recalling that sexual abuse occurs not only in the Church, but also in the family, at school and in the community, the Pope also called for the fight against child pornography.
“We cannot stop our action to protect minors and the vulnerable and at the same time combat any form of sexual abuse or abuse of power and conscience”he said.
“Only by listening to the suffering of the people who suffered these terrible crimes can we move towards solidarity and push ourselves to do everything possible so that the abuse does not happen again,” he said.
The Italian Bishops’ Conference said on Thursday it had received reports of 54 victims of alleged sexual abuse within the Church in 2022, involving 32 alleged abusers.
Source: DN
