Child crime: Pope calls for “new beginning”

Pope Francis on Friday asked the Pope’s Commission to send him the annual report on the fight against this atrocity. He called it a ‘new start’ because ‘there is still so much to do’.

“Sexual abuse of children is particularly serious because it undermines life in its development,” Pope stressed before members of the advisory council, which was formed in 2014 to help the church “protect children, youth and vulnerable adults from abuse”.

Welcoming the declining sexual violence by the clergy, the pope called for an annual report on the Church’s efforts in the area to obtain reliable information on what’s happening and what needs to change. “If there is no progress, believers will lose faith in their pastors,” he warned.

The new constitution

Instead of being announced by Pope John Paul II in 1988, he returned to the new “constitution” governing the government of St. Zion, which will take effect in June.

As a result of nine years of work, this text provides for the co-ordination of the Commission (Ministry) on the oversight of appointments inquiries into cases of sexual abuse by clergy. ., Vatican Government.

‘Important seeds have been sown (…) but much remains to be done,’ Pope stressed. This text refers to ‘a fresh start’. It is your job to discover what that is and to bring it about.

‘Some may think that this coexistence will compromise your freedom of thought and action or reduce the importance of the issues you are dealing with. This is not my intention, ‘he added, adding that critics feared the commission would lose its independence. He promised that it would be ‘independent’ under the leadership of a president appointed by the pope.

It is good to fight this disease

Finally, the Holy Father called on the Commission to ‘propose better methods’ in the fight against this scourge, ‘keeping in mind that justice and restraint are complementary’.

The pope has given a “very clear mandate to the commission” and said in a press conference with US Cardinal Sean that he would like to make sure that the survivors are welcomed and the door is open to them when they call on the church in their country. O’Malley, chairman of the commission, and private observers shortly thereafter.

/ ADS