UNITED STATES
news.com.au
Victoria Craw
news.com.au
@Victoria_Craw
A GROUP of sexual abuse survivors has put pressure on Pope Francis to respond to the child sex abuse charges levelled against Australian Cardinal George Pell.
The US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called for the leader of the Catholic Church to respond and said “sexual abuse thrives when it is allowed to flourish in secrecy”.
“We await Pope Francis’ response to this development. As the head of the Catholic Church, he has promised to work to end the scourge of abuse by his clergy. We expect him to give proof of this by sending Cardinal Pell home immediately to face these charges,” Joelle Casteix said in a statement.
“We are always grateful and encouraged when law enforcement works hard to gather evidence to build a case against a powerful and influential man. We hope that anyone with additional information about this case will contact law enforcement,” she said.
“We also hope that the Australian Government’s long and extensive investigation into institutional abuse inspires other countries to follow in their footsteps and hold similar hearings.”
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