[Photo above: Opera singer Laurence Gien speaks at a penitential service at St. Peter’s Basilica on October 1, 2024 about his sexual abuse at age 11 by a Catholic priest in a small town in South Africa. This image is a still from the complete YouTube/Vatican News video of Gien’s six-minute statement, which is embedded in full in the original of this article. Rappler has also posted the video separately, with an ad that can be skipped.]
‘The Pope, in my view, wanted us to see the importance of accepting vulnerability in the process of fortifying institutions like the Catholic Church’
Saint Peter’s Basilica, built from 1506 to 1615, has witnessed thousands of celebrations led by Catholic popes. Countless statues from the Renaissance, including Michelangelo’s Pietà, have stood guard inside it. Underneath this holy ground, the bodies of around 90 pontiffs, including the first pope, Saint Peter, are buried…
View Cache