Bishop launches petition for global Catholic abuse council

[rug]

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
Tue Jun 4, 2013 3:44pm BST

(Reuters) - A retired Australian bishop urged Roman Catholics around the world on Tuesday to sign an online petition to Pope Francis to call a new global council to take effective measures to end the sexual abuse of children in the Church.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, a former auxiliary bishop of Sydney who coordinated the Australian church's response to the sexual abuse crisis, said only a council of the world's bishops would have the power to make the changes he said were needed.

The new organisation would be akin to the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, Robinson told a news conference in Sydney, referring to the historic body that transformed the Catholic Church with modernising reforms.

But this council would focus only on solving the abuse issue, he added.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/04/uk-vatican-abuse-australia-idUKBRE9530QU20130604

http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/pope-francis-the-vatican-for-christ-s-sake-stop-sexual-abuse-for-good

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. I'm not sure a council is the correct response

But the Pope should put out something which (1) admits that there is a problem, (2) says unequivocably that neither the pedophilia nor any coverup by the hierarchy will be tolerated, (3) states specific punishments for either pedophilia or a coverup, (4) promises complete cooperation with the civil authorities and (5) apologizes for the prior actions of the Vatican, the hierarchy and the complicit priests. And this document should be carried out without hesitation or ambiguity.