VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
Joshua J. McElwee | Feb. 5, 2015 NCR Today
VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis has written a letter to the leaders of the world’s bishops’ conferences and the various Catholic religious orders, asking them to cooperate fully with all initiatives to prevent sexual abuse of minors and to protect those vulnerable with “fairness and mercy.”
Exhorting the leaders to give “close and complete cooperation” to a new Vatican commission advising him on abuse, Francis also states plainly: “There is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors.”
The pope’s letter, dated Feb. 2, was released by the Vatican Thursday. Its release comes one day before the new papal commission on the issues is to meet for the first time at the Vatican with all 17 of its members.
That commission, which is led by Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, will be meeting in Rome Friday-Sunday. Announced in December 2013, Francis added new members to it just last December and has included two survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the number.
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