Pope Francis: Act Now on Child Abuse

“During their hearing in front of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Vatican officials insisted that priests who sexually abused children were the responsibility of local bishops, not the pope or the Vatican,” said Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice. “If the pope is serious about turning the page on this scandal, he should immediately dismiss any bishop who oversaw a diocese in which a priest who abused children was shielded from the civil authorities. There can be no place in our church for bishops or priests who put children at risk. From now on, there must be zero tolerance for bishops who shield child abusers. ”

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