Sexual abuse: the Catholic Church wants to shake consciences in its ranks

Pope Francis gave himself three days and a half, from Thursday, to convince the leaders of the Catholic Church in the world of their individual responsibility for sexual abuse of minors, but the angry victims demand an electroshock.The Church, whose credibility has been severely tainted in 2018 by the revelation of new scandals on a large scale, in Chile, the United States or Germany, knows that it must act at the risk of sinking.The Jesuit Pope, who is scheduled to kick off the meeting on Thursday morning, wants to awaken consciences in his ranks with a collegial educational method, made of speeches, small linguistic groups of work, interspersed with prayers but also some poignant testimonies of clergy victims.Thus better educated and sensitized, the 114 presidents of episcopates from all continents will then return home with clear ideas, to transmit in turn to bishops and priests, Judge Pope Francis, who knows that some episcopates-especially in Asia and in Africa- are still in a deep denial of violence against minors."I hope this meeting will be seen as a turning point, not an end of the game," said American cardinal Blase Cupich, a trusted man of the Pope in the United States and one of four chosen organizers."We will do everything to make people aware of their responsibility and accountability, and there is also transparency," he said. These three elements - which will be analyzed in turn by the 190 participants - will ensure the safety of the children, judges the Archbishop of Chicago."Retouch the laws" The organizers insist a lot on the post-summit, which will give rise to certain reforms of the system, in the short, medium and long term, like that of "retouching" of the laws of the Church which would need it, specifies one of the They are Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna.A description that already rouses Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a US public database documenting investigations of priests suspected of sexual crimes. "The canon law needs to be changed, not just retouched or changed, but fundamentally changed to stop prioritizing priests over men and the lives of vulnerable children and adults who are sexually assaulted," she asserted before the press, in Rome."The Church is far from having stopped the epidemic," says Barrett Doyle, who paints an unflattering picture of the work of the bishops of the largest Catholic countries, from Brazil to Mexico, Colombia , the Philippines or Congo.And for François Devaux, co-founder of the French association of victims of pedophile priests "The liberated speech" received Wednesday at the Vatican by the organizers of the summit, "the credibility of the Church, the Vatican and the pope has arrived at a apocalyptic state "."Calling the leadership of the Church in Rome is in itself a very important message," says Archbishop Scicluna, who announces "a new day of transparency".The man was for ten years the prosecutor of the Vatican court charged with investigating cases of pedophilia among priests. It was he whom Francis sent last year to Chile to hear the victims of an old priest who had benefited from the silence of a large part of the country's episcopate.He believes that silence, omerta or the state of denial are forbidden. "Denial," a natural reflex, "is a primitive mechanism from which we must move away," he castigates.The Maltese archbishop is relying heavily on the third day of reflection on Saturday, devoted to transparency. "We must confront the facts, because only the truth will free us," said this specialist.But it is the Argentine pope who will conclude the work of this unprecedented summit by a Sunday speech, eagerly awaited.

from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2twNMnF