IRELAND
Irish Independent
Michael Kelly
Published 07/07/2014
When Pope Francis meets survivors of clerical sexual abuse today it will be the Pontiff’s first opportunity to hear of their suffering first-hand. The carefully planned encounter, which takes place in the Vatican guesthouse where the Pope has made his home, will be an opportunity for survivors to underline the fact that church mishandling of complaints against priests compounded their suffering.
Vatican officials see the meeting as a key moment in reassuring survivors that the Vatican and the Pope is determined to continue to act decisively on the issue of abuse. The Pontiff will surely be in listening mode, and survivors are likely to speak not only of their experiences of abuse but also to impress upon the Vatican what still needs to be done.
Everyone acknowledges that in places like Ireland, Britain and the US, the church now has first-rate policies in place to deal with abuse. But there is significant unfinished business that Pope Francis will have to tackle if his strong words on abuse are to be taken seriously.
For a start, the church’s ‘zero tolerance’ stance on abuse is undermined by the fact that, while abusive priests are immediately removed and reported to the civil authorities, there has been no meaningful sanction taken against bishops who have been shown to have covered up abuse.
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