HARRISBURG (PA)
Philly.com
August 16, 2018
By Liz Navratil and Angela Couloumbis
The Vatican on Thursday called “criminal and morally reprehensible” the conduct of priests detailed this week in a blistering grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania.
“Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith,” a papal spokesperson said in a statement released two days after the nearly 900-page report was made public. “The church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”
Released in multiple languages, the statement did not quote Pope Francis directly, but said he “understands well how much these crimes can shake the faith and the spirit of believers, and reiterates the call to make every effort to create a safe environment for minors and vulnerable adults in the church and in all of society. Victims should know that the pope is on their side.”
The statement represented the first public reaction to the report from Rome, and comes as the Catholic Church has reeled from a fresh wave of clergy sex-abuse cases worldwide and questions over Francis’ response to them.
Five Chilean bishops have stepped down, and more have offered to join them, amid a widening scandal there about clergy sex abuse. And last month, the pontiff accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, who remained a top church leader despite claims that he had preyed on priests or seminarians.
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