UNITED STATES
Boston Globe
By John L. Allen Jr. | GLOBE STAFF APRIL 11, 2014
Pope Francis asked forgiveness for the child sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church on Friday, the first time he’s done so as pope, and also said the church must be “very strong” in responding to the ongoing legacy of that crisis, including imposing forceful sanctions.
In remarks during an address to a French child protection group, Francis said he took personal responsibility for what he described as the “evil” of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
“I feel called to take upon myself all the evil that some priests — many, many in number, though not in proportion to the totality — to take it upon myself and to ask forgiveness for the harm they’ve done, for the sexual abuse of children,” the pope said.
“The church is aware of this harm,” he said. “It’s a personal and moral harm, but by men of the church. We do not want to take a step back in regard to treating this problem, and to the sanctions that must be imposed. On the contrary, I believe we must be very strong.”
Some experts on abuse issues praised the pope’s comments.
Everett Worthington Jr., a psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University who’s also written on the subject of forgiveness, called the pope’s statement “a costly act that moves the church in the direction of beginning to restore a sense of justice to those who were wronged and harmed.”
Victims’ advocacy organizations, on the other hand, urged caution, saying they’ve heard apologetic language before from leading church figures but are awaiting concrete action.
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