In order to treat accusations against priest of sexual abuse thoroughly, cases should be turned over to the civil justice system, not just to church authorities, said the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy. Cardinal Claudio Hummes said instances of sexual abuse by priests are “extremely serious and are criminal facts that the church can never tolerate in any way.... One must resolutely pursue [the case] to the very end by also turning to ordinary justice,” he said on Jan. 13. The cardinal was one of several top Vatican officials who attended a lengthy meeting on Dec. 11 with Pope Benedict XVI and Irish church leaders to discuss revelations about sexual abuse by clergy in Ireland. Cardinal Hummes said that what happened in Ireland was “a very painful fact, which certainly hits first and foremost the victims, but it also deeply hurts the heart of the church.”
Vatican: Take Abuse Cases to Civilian Courts
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
While I would never wish this disease on anyone, it has prompted a personal eucharistic revival of sorts within my own spiritual life.
“I want to be a companion to Sister Sheral on this journey for as long as I have breath,” Sister Maureen Sinnott writes.
San Antonio's Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller discussed the incoming Trump administration, synodality, the U.S. bishops’ anti-poverty program and his health.
“President Biden's decision to commute the sentences of 37 prisoners condemned to death was a reminder that even the most heinous of our sins does not mar our human dignity.”