ROME
Vatican Radio
[with audio]
(Vatican Radio) Representatives of bishops conferences from 15 English speaking countries met at the Pontifical Gregorian University this week to discuss a spiritual and theological response to the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.
The annual meeting of the Anglophone conference on the Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults, which concluded on Wednesday, was jointly hosted by the Gregorian’s Centre for Child Protection and the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference.
Participants raised challenging questions about the meaning of redemption or reconciliation for survivors of sexual abuse. They also discussed the anger and confusion of so many Catholics who’ve left the Church as a result of the abuse crisis.
Among the renowned theologians addressing the conference was Sr Sara Butler, president of the Academy of Catholic Theology in Washington D.C. and former member of the International Theological Commission….
Sr Sara says people who’ve heard about the sex abuse crisis begin to wonder whether the sacraments celebrated by priests who were offenders are valid…..
She looks back at the history of the Church, starting with the Diocletian persecution in North Africa in the early 4th century, through to later reformers who sought to stop the sexual abuses of the clergy of their day by saying that the sacraments were not valid…..
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