• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Pope Vows ‘All-Out Battle’ Saying Child Sex Abuse Like ‘Human Sacrifice’

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
02/24/19
in Featured, World
Jerusalem Pope Francis refugees Christmas

Pope Francis holds his homily during the Christmas night Mass at the St. Petris Basilica on December 24, 2017 in Vatican City, Vatican. Photo: AFP

25
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Pope Francis on Sunday vowed to tackle every single case of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, comparing pedophilia to “human sacrifice” in a speech that left victims cold.

His public address to top bishops at the end of a landmark summit in the Vatican promised an “all-out battle” against abusive priests, but blamed the devil and insisted the Church was not the only place children were assaulted.

“If in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness,” Francis promised.

“I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites,” he said.

The sexual abuse of minors was “a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” Francis said, and he slammed those priests who prey on children as “tools of Satan.”

“I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas… for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth,” he said.

Children must be “protected from ravenous wolves”, he said, adding: “We stand face to face with the mystery of evil.”

Pope Francis has promised to stop cover-ups of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Chuch "as was usual in the past." pic.twitter.com/HrsJN62tfe

— DW News (@dwnews) February 24, 2019


‘New Motu Proprio’

The scandals have hit countries around the world, with lives devastated from Australia to Chile, Germany, and the U.S.

The Argentine had opened the four-day meeting by calling for “concrete measures” against child sex abuse and handing 114 senior bishops a roadmap to shape the debate on tackling pedophile priests.

The pope will issue “a new Motu Proprio” on the “protection of minors and vulnerable persons”, summit moderator Federico Lombardi said after the pope’s speech.

“Motu Proprios” are legal documents issued under the pope’s personal authority, and this one will “strengthen prevention and the fight against abuse on the part of the Roman Curia and Vatican City State,” he said.

Francis also wants to create “task forces” to help local parishes fight clerical pedophilia and the Vatican will draw up guidelines for bishops on dealing with abuse cases, he added.


‘Waste of Time’

The 82-year-old pontiff had warned victims to lower their expectations, saying much of the work would be done post-summit.

Swiss victim Jean-Marie Furbringer said: “Honestly it’s a pastoral ‘blabla’, saying it’s the fault of the devil”.

“It talks about the devil, it talks about evil… There is no talk about permanently excluding child rapists and abusers who are employees of the Church,” said Britain’s Peter Saunders, a victim who resigned from a Vatican advisory commission on combating abuse.

“From a child protection point of view, it’s been a waste of time. From keeping the world’s eyes on this institution and its failure to protect children, it’s been a great success,” he said.

The meeting has been marked by soul-seeking and self-recrimination by the Church, and horror stories from abuse victims.

In his lengthy speech, Francis said the Church would draw inspiration from the “best practices” in the Seven Strategies for Ending Violence against Children, measures developed under the guidance of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

He said the Church “in developing her legislation” will focus on eight aspects: “the protection of children”, “impeccable seriousness”, “genuine purification”, “formation”, “strengthening and reviewing guidelines by Episcopal Conferences” and “accompaniment of those who have been abused.”

Australian Archbishop Mark Coleridge delivers a homily following Pope Francis' summit on paedophilia, pledging to 'bring justice and healing to survivors of abuse' https://t.co/DRoDjfozLN pic.twitter.com/E6D1YE120e

— ITV News (@itvnews) February 24, 2019


‘Heed Their Cries’

Those gathered at the Vatican heard testimonies from victims, one of whom was forced to have three abortions after being abused for years by a priest who beat her, while another said he had been molested more than 100 times.

“The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding in them fathers and spiritual guides encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power,” Francis said. “It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry.”

But Francesco Zanardi, survivor and head of Italian victims’ association Rete Abuso, said the Vatican had “lost credibility.”

“We wanted to see measures, to see the bishops (guilty of protecting pedophile priests) named. Start by opening the Vatican archives, not by destroying documents. Start handing documents over to the civil authorities,” he said.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna, one of the organizers of the summit, told journalists he understood the “frustration” of survivors, insisting: “the expectations of victims should also be our expectations, and they are.”

The Vatican has in the past refused to hand over internal documents about abuse cases to police investigating pedophilia.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx admitted Saturday that “files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible were destroyed, or not even created.”

The admission sparked an angry reaction from the international association ECA (Ending Clerical Abuse), which slammed the destruction of such documents “illegal” and called for an investigation.

Catholic Church and Child Sex Abuse: Prayer over Penance?

Share25Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Pope Francis
Refugees

Pope Francis Plans New Migrant Transfer to Rome on Cyprus Visit

by Staff Writer
November 26, 2021
Vatican has vaccinated 25 people experiencing homelessness against the coronavirus.
World

Vatican Vaccinates Homeless Against Coronavirus

by Staff Writer
January 20, 2021
Pro-choice activists celebrate after the Senate approved a bill to legalize abortion outside the Congress in Buenos Aires on December 30.
World

Argentines Celebrate as Senate Passes Landmark Abortion Bill

by Staff Writer
December 30, 2020
Argentinians celebrating a bill that legalizes abortion.
World

Amnesty Gathers 250,000 Signatures for Legal Abortion in Argentina

by Staff Writer
December 17, 2020
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales
World

Morales Says Will Return to Bolivia After Ally’s Election Victory

by Staff Writer
October 19, 2020
Shadows of a men sexually assaulting a women
Opinion

US Needs Predator Database to Effectively Fight Child Sex Trafficking

by Lori Handrahan
September 3, 2019
Next Post
Demonstrators hold a banner demanding freedom for Catalan jailed leader Oriol Junqueras as they gather to take part in a pro-independence demonstration in Barcelona, on September 11, 2018, marking the National Day of Catalonia

Catalan Separatists on Trial Pay Price for Spain's Crude Transition to Democracy

E-cigarette maker JUUL is taking steps to curb youth appeal, including suspending in-store sales of various flavored products

'Healthy' Smoking Alternative Has Turned Into Adolescent Epidemic: Get Rid of the Juul

Recommended

Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on November 19, 2017

Israel MPs to Vote on Opposition Bid to Dissolve Parliament

June 11, 2025
Two protesters wave Mexican flags while standing on a vandalized Waymo vehicle during a demonstration in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025, following a series of aggressive federal immigration operations in the city.

Unrest in Los Angeles Over Immigration Raids as Troops Sent by Trump Fan Out

June 9, 2025
US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on August 4, 2020. Photo: Drew Angerer/AFP.

US Steel, Aluminum Tariff Hikes to Take Effect Wednesday: W. House

June 4, 2025
textile workers in Kenya

Workers’ Rights in ‘Free Fall’ Globally: Report

June 2, 2025

Opinion

Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Putin talks to Trump in Hamburg

From Roosevelt to Trump: The Complicated Legacy of Personal Diplomacy

November 15, 2024
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post