UNITED STATES
Catholic Online
By Deacon Keith Fournier
5/8/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Sexual abuse by Catholic clergy needs to be disclosed, exposed, prosecuted and explained. This Pope will do that. He will also address the evil which lies at the root of the problem
The exposure of sexual sin among Catholic clergy is not accidental in its timing. It is a part of a time of purification. Such sexual activity, particularly when forced on a child by one in a position of power – priest, bishop or deacon- is an act of evil in its most heinous form. It constitutes a spiritual plundering and attempt to destroy a soul. It is also criminal – and it should be prosecuted. There have been other times in the history of the Church when the clergy have been corrupted. God always begins His Spring cleaning in His own house. As the Apostle Peter wrote to the Church of the first millennium during another great missionary age: “the time has come for judgment to begin with the House of God.” (1 Peter 4:17)
WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – On April 5, 2013, Pope Francis met with Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Among the topics discussed was clerical sexual abuse. The new Pope made crystal clear his high regard for the strong approach of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, to confronting this evil.
He directed Archbishop Muller to continue the zero tolerance approach of Benedict XVI and to “act decisively” against sexual abuse. He charged him to carry out “due proceedings against the guilty.” After the meeting the Vatican released a statement which included these directions to the CDF:
“To act decisively concerning cases of sexual abuse – First of all by promoting measures for the protection of minors, as well as in offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty, and in the commitment of bishops’ conferences to formulate and implement the necessary directives in this area that is so important for the Church’s witness and credibility.”
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