MASSACHUSETTS
Attleboro Sun Chronicle
BY EMILY O’DONNELL SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
He cracks jokes. He rides the bus. He tweets.
With the election of Jorge Bergoglio as the 266th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the College of Cardinals looked to the New World for the first time in choosing the 77-year-old former Jesuit cardinal from Buenos Aires, Argentina, but it’s paying off – certainly, in the Americas.
Pope Francis, whose papal name was taken from beloved Francis of Assisi (patron saint of the animals), is riding a wave of popularity barely a year after his ascension to the Throne of Saint Peter.
Thomas Boffa of Attleboro praised Francis for making the Catholic Church seem more welcoming. …
Members of the U.S.-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, criticized the pope and the Vatican for doing too little to punish priests who have sexually abused children.
In a speech earlier this month, Francis condemned the sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and said perpetrators will be punished. But, Barbara Dorris, SNAP’s outreach director, said the promise was “all talk.”
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.