Pope Francis on Friday stressed how
the Catholic Church is working to give justice to the victims of
child-sex abuse by members of the clergy a day after his
predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, was criticised in a
report released in Germany.
The report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and
Freising concluded that there were at least 497 victims of acts
committed by at least 235 people, including 173 priests, between
1945 and 2019.
It said Benedict XVI failed to take action in four cases when he
was Archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982.
Benedict denies making mistakes in these four cases or
involvement in cover-ups.
Pope Francis told members of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith (CDF) on Friday that the Church was "resolutely
pursuing her commitment to bring justice to the victims of abuse
by her members.
"In this light, I have recently updated the Norms on crimes
reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with
the desire to make judicial action more incisive," he added.
"Judicial action alone cannot be enough to stem the phenomenon,
but it is a necessary step towards re-establishing justice,
repairing the scandal and emending the offender".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
