12
in the church
April 29, 2014
T
he Valley Catholic
Pope apologizes for clerical sex abuse
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- “I feel called
to take responsibility for all the evil
some priests -- large in number, but
not in proportion to the total -- have
committed and to ask forgiveness for the
damage they’ve done with the sexual
abuse of children,” Pope Francis said.
“The Church is aware of this damage” and is committed to strengthening
child protection programs and punishing offenders, he told members of the
International Catholic Child Bureau
during a meeting April 11 at the Vatican.
The remarks appeared to be the
pope’s first apology for the sex abuse
scandal, following earlier statements
affirming the Vatican’s work investigating and punishing perpetrators, and
encouraging bishops to support abuse
victims. The pope also has said the
Church deserves to be forced to make
monetary settlements to victims.
In December, Pope Francis established a Vatican commission to promote
improved child protections policies
throughout the Church.
Meeting with leaders of the International Catholic Child Bureau, an organization based in France and dedicated
to defending