ROME
Herald Sun
AS cardinals prepare for the conclave to elect the next pope, the victims of sex abuse by clergymen are trying to ensure the vote doesn’t go to anyone they accuse of helping cover up the scandal.
The Catholic hierarchy had a final day of talks in Rome on Monday before going into lockdown in the Sistine Chapel for the vote, after former pontiff Benedict XVI’s shock resignation – the first for 700 years.
The endless scandals over sexual abuse by pedophile priests and cover-ups by superiors will be a factor in the debate, and victims’ groups have been campaigning in the Vatican and at home to try to make it a deciding one.
“If the Church elects a new Pope that has a poor record of dealing with abuse, that will be a sign that nothing has changed,” said James Salt, director of victims’ pressure-group Catholics United.
The group has launched an appeal calling for “all Cardinals tarnished by scandal to recuse themselves from upcoming Papal conclave,” eliminating themselves not just as candidates, but as electors.
Members of the US group SNAP – Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests – have travelled to Rome where they have been active ahead of the conclave.
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