UNITED STATES
Mic

By Coleen Jose

The news: In a move that’s elicited applause from the victims of clerical abuse, Pope Francis has officially excommunicated a Argentine priest who confessed to pedophilia. While it’s a major step in the right direction, some are still calling it a lax effort considering the church’s supposed “zero tolerance” policy for crimes against children.

In 2011, Argentine priest Jose Mercau received a 14-year prison sentence after admitting to sexually abusing four teenagers but spent only 15 days in jail before spending the rest of his sentence in a monastery in Buenos Aires until his release last March.

Mercau’s excommunication, which was announced Wednesday by the bishopric of San Isidro on the outskirts of the Argentine capital, signals a pivot toward Francis’ zero tolerance policy, which he introduced last year with the hope of bringing abusers to justice and protecting victims of past abuse.

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