ROME (ITALY)
Crux
February 7, 2019
By John L. Allen Jr.
Twice now, and with ascending levels of authority, we’ve been cautioned not to expect too much from the summit on clerical sexual abuse Pope Francis has called for Feb. 21-24 for the presidents of bishops’ conferences around the world.
First came the Vatican’s new editorial director, veteran Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, who penned a Jan. 10 editorial complaining of media “hype” over the meeting, quipping that it’s being covered as if it were “halfway between a council and a conclave.”
Then on his way home from World Youth Day in Panama in late January, Francis waded into the fray during an in-flight news conference.
“Let me say that I’ve perceived expectations that are a little inflated,” he said. “We need to deflate those expectations.”
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