UNITED STATES
Religion Dispatched
Vatican, ‘Cool Pope’ Blast UN Link Between Sexual Abuse Scandal and Church Attitudes on Gays, Contraception, Abortion
Post by PATRICIA MILLER
What’s remarkable about the profile of Pope Francis in the current issue of Rolling Stone isn’t its content—after all, it largely consists of information that’s been reported elsewhere—it’s that it exists at all. In Rolling Stone. Fascination with “Cool Pope Francis”—as Gawker dubbed him—is running so high that even a magazine usually devoted to guitar gods and pop princesses devoted nearly 8,000 words to the pontiff.
While that article attempts to determine just how much of an agent for change Francis might actually be, the big question, as commentators like Mary Hunt here on RD have asked in one form or another, is how much headway he can make—or wants to make—on reforming church doctrine on the role of women, contraception and LGBT issues.
But as the report released today by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child slamming the Vatican for its handling of clergy sex abuse illustrates, no matter how well-intentioned (or Cool) Francis may be, the problem is that the Church still doesn’t recognize what the real problem is.
The report acknowledges some progress on abuse made under Francis, notably the announcement of an independent commission, but also says: “The Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.