Vatican’s global summit on protecting children lays out principles for reform
Soon after the Vatican summit, in which a Nigerian leader spoke of the need to change how the church responds to abuse, secular courts announced convictions of two cardinals.
Pope Francis called for eradicating abuse inside and outside the Catholic Church, referring to clergy who abuse children as “tools of Satan,” in his final address to the presidents of all Catholic bishops’ conferences he summoned from across the globe, nearly 190 in total.
“In people’s justified anger, the church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons,” Francis said to the bishops and others gathered at the Vatican February 21–24 to address the protection of minors in the church.
He then outlined eight principles for the church: protecting children; rejecting cover-ups; “purification” within the church; better screening for candidates for the priesthood; taking a united approach to the issue across bishops’ conferences; accompanying those who have been abused; confronting child pornography and online abuse; and combating “sexual tourism.”
