MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican
By The Republican Editorials
on April 14, 2014
If Pope Francis were to leave the papacy immediately, if he were never to make another public pronouncement, he would have already made an enormous, positive impact on the Catholic Church.
His words about child sexual assault will act as a salve to the thousands of children and adults who have lived in pain and disillusion following the illegal, immoral and evil acts of priests.
“I feel compelled to take personal responsibility for all the evil that some priests, many – many in number (although) not in comparison with the totality – to assume personal responsibility and to ask forgiveness for the damaged caused by the sexual abuse of the children,” he said Friday. “The church is aware of the damage. We don’t want to take a step back in dealing with his problem and the sanctions that must be imposed. On the contrary, I think we must be even stronger. You don’t play around with the lives of children.”
The pope’s unprepared remarks were delivered in Spanish Friday to members of the International Catholic Child Bureau.
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