Pope Francis’ Strong Words on Clergy Sex Abuse

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters | May. 27, 2014 Distinctly Catholic

It was not just that Pope Francis announced he would be meeting with victims next month. Nor was it that he compared the molestation of children to a black Mass, an incarnation of evil. Nor was it that he uttered the words “zero tolerance” without which various Church officials will always find some wiggle room to protect friends. No, the biggest point that Pope Francis made in his press conference on the plane back from the Holy Land was that there are three bishops under investigation, apparently not for actually abusing a child but for failing to enforce church law against abusers. We know about the former nuncio in the Dominican Republic, the Polish Archbishop Wesolowski. Who are the others? Could Kansas City’s long diocesan nightmare be over sooner than we had hoped?

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.