Pope Francis to Meet Sexual Assault Victims for First Time Ever

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/24619-pope-francis-to-meet-sexual-assault-victims-for-first-time-ever

Six victims from Britain, Germany and Ireland will talk with the head of the Roman Catholic Church at his private residence near Saint Peter's Basilica in a gesture aimed at expressing his closeness to the tens of thousands of people abused by priests globally.

The private meeting -- the first with abuse victims since Francis was elected in February last year -- is hotly awaited by victim support groups who have criticised the Argentinian for not acting earlier.

Francis has been slow to speak out on an issue which has hugely damaged the Catholic Church for over a decade, but in May he branded the sexual abuse of children by priests a crime comparable to a "satanic Mass" and promised "zero tolerance".

Monday's encounter, which will follow a mass in the pope's private chapel, will come a day after a meeting of the commission set up by Francis to advise him on the sexual abuse crisis and draw up protocols for the pope to consider.

Composed of experts from eight countries, the body includes campaigner Marie Collins -- who was assaulted as a 13-year-old by a hospital chaplain in her native Ireland -- as well as British and French psychiatrists, a German psychologist and an Italian cannon law professor.

[Marrah_G]

1. And yet Cardinal Law still lives in a Basilica that he was made Arch-Bishop of in Rome

I heard lots of talk from the Vatican, but as long as that asshole is still in a position of honor within the church I won't believe a fucking word of it.

[skepticscott]

2. Exactly. "Zero tolerance" apparently doesn't extend to those

who covered up and abetted those crimes.

That anyone on a progressive web site, or any decent person, period, would defend this man is really despicable.

[rug]

3. Who are you going on about now with your faux outrage? Cadinal Law or Pope Francis?

Because the OP is not about Law and no one is defending him.

[AtheistCrusader]

10. The RCC = No One. You heard it here first, folks.

[rug]

11. I see. You don't believe in syntax either.

[AtheistCrusader]

13. "and no one is defending him."

An entity has most certainly done so.

[rug]

14. Reading comprehension precedes syntax.

That anyone on a progressive web site, or any decent person, period, would defend this man is really despicable.

Do you have any idea who scotty is going on about this time?

[okasha]

4. Law no longer holds any Church office

and hasn't done so for more than two years.

He does still live in an apartment attached to Santa Maria Maggiore. I agree that he ought to be evicted--to a Trappist monastery, perhaps. They're one of the most austere orders in the Church.

[Marrah_G]

5. He should be fired

He should be stripped of any titles. Instead, right after he helped devastate so many families including parts of my own, he was rushed off to Rome immune from prosecution and made one of 4 Arch Bishops of Rome. It was a slap in the face. He was rewarded for his part in the conspiracy and is still being rewarded.

Sigh.....as you can tell it still infuriates me. I look forward to the day the man dies.

[okasha]

6. There is no longer anything to fire him from.

There is only one Bishop of Rome, and he's the Pope. Law resigned all his offices over two years ago. His actual title at Santa Maria Maggiore was "Archpriest." He is now simply a retired Cardinal.

I do think that JPII committed a huge injustice by allowing Law to continue as a Church functionary in Rome. I think he should have been required to stay in Boston and face the people he harmed, even if he couldn't be prosecuted.

[cbayer]

7. Apparently Benedict met individually with some victims as well,

though I don't recall hearing much about this.

I hope that Francis will have something to say after these meetings. If he does not, then it would appear to be only for show.

The Commission sounds promising and it will be interesting to see what kinds of protocols they come up with.

[No Vested Interest]

8. Pope Francis usually has something to say on any and all subjects.

He's not exactly the silent type.

[cbayer]

9. You are right and it is one of the things I like about him (so far).