Press TV
June 19, 2011
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185325.html
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| A view of the Vatican City |
About 200 bishops and church leaders from all around the world are set to take part in a three-day symposium in 2012 organized by the Vatican to discuss guidelines to combat sex abuse.
In the major event slated to be held in February next year, the Vatican, teaming up with the Jesuit University in Rome, aims to help church leaders come up with researches on how to prevent child abuse, train priests properly and help victims heal, AFP reports
Psychologists, theologians, and child-abuse specialists will also participate in the conference to provide bishops with expertise.
The Holy See also plans to launch a multi-lingual Internet learning center as a database for follow-up guidance that will involve cooperation with medical schools and universities and will be accessible, in part, to the public.
Private donors have pledged funds to maintain the database for an initial three years.
"The church is taking an important step in the formation of the clergy," Monsignor Charles J. Scicluna, the Vatican's internal prosecutor in charge of handling sexual abuse cases, said.
The Vatican has tried to repair the damage from the revelations of recent pedophilia scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church since last year.
The Church has said that it failed to properly investigate claims of abuse and that in some cases there was a cover-up, with pedophile priests simply moved elsewhere instead of being disciplined and reported to the police.
The Church has also faced accusations of deliberately delaying reparations for victims, most of whom suffered their abuse too long ago for criminal charges to be brought.
Pope Benedict XV himself has been accused of aiding efforts to protect pedophile priests from prosecution.
Charges against the Pope alleging crimes against humanity have been initiated at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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