Vatican sex pledge

Rome- Catholic clergy must report paedophile priests to the police, a top Vatican official told the Holy See’s first conference on the sex abuse crisis on Monday, but victims’ groups demanded the Vatican publish its files on abuse.

Pope Benedict called for a “profound renewal of the church at every level” in a message delivered to senior churchmen discussing the church’s handling of sex abuse cases and accusations that the Vatican encouraged secrecy.

The scandal has led to costly legal action and is blamed for an exodus of believers in some European states.

Cardinal William Levada, the Vatican’s head of doctrine, said clergy guilty of abuses would have to face the secular legal system, not just the canon law governing church affairs.

“The Church has an obligation to co-operate with the requirements of civil law regarding the reporting of such crimes to the appropriate authorities,” said Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

But an association for abuse victims dismissed the conference as “window dressing” and said the Vatican should hand over documentation of abuse to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

“After years of promises, meetings and empty apologies, the Vatican cannot do the simplest, cheapest and most child-friendly action possible: make public decades of secret files on clergy sex offenders and enablers,” said Joelle Casteix from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. – Reuters 

REUTERS

Pope Benedict XVI. Picture: Reuters/Tony Gentile

Rome- Catholic clergy must report paedophile priests