Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience in St. Peter's Square on April 3, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

By Corky Siemaszko
New York Daily News
April 5, 2013

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/pope-francis-catholic-church-punish-pedophile-priests-article-1.1308895?localLinksEnabled=false

Pope Francis gave the Roman Catholic Church some marching orders Friday — "act decisively" to root out and punish pedophile priests.

Doing so is necessary "for the church and its credibility," Francis said, according to the Vatican.

It was the first time Francis publically addressed the festering sex abuse issue since he was elected last month — and he did so in a meeting with Archbishop Gerhard Muller, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which investigates perv priests.

The department should also promote "measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past," the pope's statement said.

But advocates for victims of sexual abuse by priests were not impressed.

"Once again, as have happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he's asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops," said Barbara Dorris of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a U.S.-based organization. "Big deal. Actions speak louder than words."

Still, papal historian Rebecca Rist said the timing of Francis' words is significant.

"By proclaiming this message so early in his pontificate, Pope Francis is sending a very strong signal to the world that he is willing to tackle the issue head on," Rist told the London-based Telegraph newspaper.

The Catholic Church has been dogged by the pedophile priest scandal for more than a decade - and criticized for doing more to protect perverted priests than the victims.

Victim advocates in Francis' homeland of Argentina have also been pressing the pope to apologize for the church's protection for two priests who were convicted of sexually assaulting children.

Earlier this week, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced it would release thousands of documents related to priest sexual abuse lawsuits on July 1, including a deposition from Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Dolan, who headed the church in Milwaukee before moving to New York City, was questioned about his decision to publicize the names of priests accused of molestation. He said he welcomes the document dump.

The pedophile priest erupted when an ailing Pope John Paul was in the final years of his reign - and when church leaders dealt with sicko priests by shuffling them from one parish to another.

His successor, Pope Benedict, was the first pope to meet with abuse victims. But Benedict disappointed victims by not disciplining church higher-ups who shielded abusive priests.

- With News Wire Services

Contact: csiemaszko@nydailynews.com