Originally published in Christian Today
Pope Francis opened a landmark Vatican conference on the sexual abuse of children by priests yesterday by saying the Church would “listen to the cry of the little ones seeking justice”.
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Victims expected “concrete and efficient measures” to address the abuse and scandal and not mere condemnations, Francis said in a short opening statement.
The “evil” of sexual abuse of children by priests had to be transformed into a ‘purification’ of the Roman Catholic Church, he said.
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After the pope spoke, Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, who broke into tears as he read a keynote speech, acknowledged that “wounds have been inflicted by us, the bishops, on the victims”.
The four-day conference brings together the heads of national Catholic bishops conferences, Vatican officials, experts and heads of male and female religious orders.
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Some victims’ groups have voiced scepticism, calling the event a publicity stunt aimed at cleansing the image of the 1.3 billion-member Church which has been severely tainted by the scandal that is now more than three decades old.
