LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian
February 18, 2019
By Harriet Sherwood
More than 100 senior Roman Catholic bishops from around the world will gather in Rome this week for a summit Pope Francis has called to address clerical sexual abuse – the most serious crisis in the church since the Reformation, according to a Catholic historian.
The Vatican has sought to downplay expectations surrounding the four-day meeting, which begins on Thursday. But survivors and advocacy groups say it must deliver clear outcomes if it is to begin to restore the church’s damaged credibility on the issue and avoid being seen as a talking shop.
The removal from the priesthood of the former archbishop and cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the church’s most prominent figures, at the weekend sent a strong signal from the Vatican that sexual abuse will no longer be swept under the carpet. Francis on Sunday asked for prayers for the summit, calling abuse “an urgent challenge of our time”.
Although Francis, who will be present throughout the summit and will give a closing speech, has previously warned that expectations must be “deflated”, the senior Vatican figure moderating the conference said last week that the church’s credibility was “strongly at stake”.
Father Federico Lombardi said in Rome: “We must deal with this theme with depth and without fear.”
Conceding there had been “resistance” by some bishops, he added: “If we don’t commit ourselves to fight against these crimes, in society and in the church, then we are not fulfilling our duty.”
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