Pope Francis Summons Catholic Church’s Top Officials For First-Of-Its-Kind Meeting On Sexual Abuse
As sexual abuse scandals continue to plague the Catholic church, Pope Francis has now taken an unprecedented step towards doing something about it.
Earlier this morning, news from Rome announced that the Pope will be summoning the presidents of the Catholic Bishops conferences from around the world – top officials of the Catholic Church – to discuss the escalating sexual abuse scandals dominating countless headlines.
The announcement was made made by the Vice-director of the Holy See Press Office, Paloma García Ovejero, at a press briefing on the meeting of the Council of Cardinal Advisers. The Vatican Press Office explained that, after hearing the Council of Cardinals, the Pope decided to convene the meeting, which will be tackling the theme of “Protection of minors.”
The meeting will take place in the Vatican from the 21st to the 24th of February 2019. The cardinals’ statement noted that during this week’s reunion, the Council had “reflected fully together with the Holy Father on the issue of abuse”.
Last month, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano sparked a firestorm when he accused Pope Francis of covering up sexual abuse allegations against an American cardinal.
Claiming the Pope had personally ignored abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick for five years, Vigano also called on Francis to step down. The Pope has so far refused to respond to these allegations.