PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Times
As Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput prepares to take his delegation of corporate executives to the Vatican March 24 to prepare for the World Meeting of Families in September 2015 in the City of Brotherly Love, there is a crucial item that should be included on his agenda.
He should ensure that the issue of children’s safety is a high priority when planning this international event with Pope Francis.
The meeting, designed to “emphasize the good news of the family and highlight its intrinsic value to the good of society,” would be the ideal time for the pontiff to publicly condemn clerical sexual abuse and its deleterious effects on children — and, subsequently, their families.
It would be the perfect occasion for the Holy Father to define decisive actions to bring to justice any pedophiles still among church ranks and make accountable their superiors who have permitted them continued access to children.
After decades of the hierarchy protecting pedophile priests, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was forced to take a stand in 2002 when the molestation conviction of a Boston priest opened a Pandora’s Box of clerical sexual abuse allegations across the country. The bishops formulated a policy requiring all reports of suspected child abuse within the U.S. church community be turned over to civil authorities. Since then the abuse scandal has exploded worldwide.
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