Pope promise to sanction priests who sexually abused children, pleads on their behalf

Pope Francis made his strongest condemnation yet of
sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Friday, asking for forgiveness and pledging to impose penalties on “men of the church” who harm children.
“I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests
— quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests
— to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children,” the Pope said in remarks quoted by Vatican Radio.
“The church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we will deal with this problem, and the
sanctions that must be imposed,” Francis continued.
“On the contrary, we have to be even stronger. Because you cannot interfere with children.”
The U.S.-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said it may be the first time a pope has spoken of sanctioning “complicit bishops.”
“But that is all it is: talk,” said Barbara Dorris,
SNAP’s outreach director.
“We beg the world’s Catholics: Be impressed by deeds,
not words. Until the Pope takes decisive action that
protects kids, be skeptical and vigilant.”
The Pope’s new comments, made Friday to members of a Catholic nongovernmental organization, the
International Catholic Child Bureau, represent a shift
from his previous statements on sexual abuse.
In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra in March, Francis struck a defensive tone, saying, “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution that has moved with transparency and responsibility. No one has done more. And yet
the church is the only one that has been attacked.”
Advocates for victims of sexual abuse had slammed those remarks, calling them another example of the church prioritizing its reputation over the protection of children.

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