If tried and found guilty, the penalties can vary depending on the seriousness of the crime and, often, the age of the accused; possible penalties include removal from office, restricted ministry, “a life of prayer and penance” without any public ministry and dismissal from the clerical state.

After the Vatican’s historic summit on the sexual abuse of children, Archbishop Mark Coleridge says “the mission of the church” is at stake.

The Vatican said the conviction is “a painful news that, we are well aware, has shocked very many persons, not only in Australia.” At the same time, “it reaffirmed maximum respect for the Australian judicial authorities.”

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

“The faithful do not forgive the lack of transparency because it is a new assault on the victims,” Valentina Alazraki, a Mexican television reporter, told the 190 church leaders attending the Vatican summit on the protection of minors.

“It is not transparency which damages the church, but rather the acts of abuse committed, the lack of transparency or the ensuing cover-up.”

In addressing the abuse crisis, Ms. Ghisoni called for “the dynamic involvement of the whole people of God.”

Cardinal Cupich presented a framework for “clear procedures to hold bishops involved in misconduct and mishandling [of abuse cases] accountable.”

Pope Francis prayed that the Holy Spirit would “sustain” summit participants and “help us to turn this evil into an opportunity for awareness and purification.”

Frederic Martel boldly told reporters at a press conference at the Foreign Press Association in Rome on Feb. 20 that “the great majority” of the more than 200 members of the College of Cardinals are leading double lives.