VATICAN CITY
Times Argus
July 08,2014
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis promised to hold bishops accountable for the protection of minors and begged forgiveness Monday from the victims of clergy sex abuse as he held his first meeting with several abuse survivors.
The pope celebrated a Mass with six survivors at his Vatican hotel Monday, but in his homily he didn’t spell out whether that accountability would include firing bishops and other prelates who systematically shuffled pedophile priests from parish to parish to avoid bringing shame upon the Catholic Church.
Victims’ advocacy groups around the world have pressed the Vatican for decades to severely discipline any complicit church hierarchy.
One of the six, Irishwoman Marie Kane, 43, said she asked Francis to remove an Irish cardinal, Sean Brady, from his post because of how he handled abuse allegations.
Kane told The Irish Times that she told Francis “A cover-up is still happening and you have the power to make these changes.” She said that he replied ‘It was difficult to make these changes.”’
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