BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
February 14, 2019
By Michael Rezendes
IT’S DIFFICULT TO EXAGGERATE the crisis that has engulfed the Catholic Church due to unending revelations about priests who have sexually abused children, young adults — even nuns — and the bishops who have covered up for them.
Each week, it seems, the scandal detonates yet again with fresh news of priests who have had their way with children, and the bishops who have allowed them to continue working as trusted clergymen. Nearly two decades after the scandal erupted in Boston and began its relentless march around the world, it’s become a crisis without end.
Later this week, in what is merely the latest attempt to arrest the scandal, top bishops from around the world will gather at the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis and assure the Catholic faithful that leaders of the global religion, with an estimated 1.2 billion followers, are finally ready to face the crisis.
But Vatican officials, including Pope Francis, are already working to manage expectations. They are particularly concerned about those followers who think it’s high time that the Holy See adopt a set of clear, global guidelines for preventing abuse, as well as a mechanism for disciplining the bishops who try cover it up.
While returning to Rome from a recent trip to Panama, the pope told reporters he was seeking to “deflate” those hopes, describing the gathering as a “catechesis” — an educational opportunity to help bishops understand the effects of clerical abuse and proper ways to respond.
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