UNITED STATES
Inquirer
WASHINGTON – Clergy sexual abuse victims urged newly-elected Pope Francis to reform the Catholic Church and declare “zero tolerance” for sex crimes as his first official act.
“St. Francis was the greatest reformer in the history of the church, Pope Francis must do the same,” the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said in a statement.
Jorge Bergoglio, the first pope from the Americas, chose his papal name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic friar and preacher known for stressing humility.
US-based SNAP warned that millions of children remain at risk from pedophile priests because the Church has not yet reversed longstanding policies of covering up reports of sexual abuse by transferring priests to unsuspecting parishes.
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