ROME
Chiesa
She was abused by a priest at the age of thirteen. She is the first victim to have given testimony about her tragedy at an official congress of the Church. Inaugurated in Munich, an international center for the protection of children
by Sandro Magister
ROMA, February 11, 2012 – For the first time at an official assembly of the Catholic Church, a victim of the scandal has spoken, Marie Collins of Ireland, sexually abused by a priest when she was thirteen years old.
An even more significant “first” in that it is connected to what has become for the Church the absolute priority in the fight against this scandal: closeness to the victims.
Marie Collins recounted her life, marked by that wound, on February 6, the opening day of an international symposium entitled “Toward healing and renewal” organized by the Pontifical Gregorian University, with the participation of other Vatican authorities and representatives of 110 episcopal conferences and more than 30 religious orders.
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