International News
Abuse victims want more than apology from pope
Posted on: Wed June 09, 2010
International Highlights
ROME: Victims of sexual abuse by priests on Tuesday demanded Pope Benedict take concrete steps to discipline clerics who have molested children, saying a public apology they expect this week from the pope will not be enough.
The US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests(SNAP) said the pope was expected to use a June 9-11 meeting of the world s priests at the Vatican to issue an apology over a widening sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church. But the group said any apology was meaningless unless the pontiff also set a zero-tolerance policy for paedophile priests or church officials involved in any cover-up and turned over files on abuse cases to the authorities.
We re going to hear a lot about forgiveness, but we want to talk about justice, Peter Isely, a SNAP leader who said he had been abused by a priest, told a news conference near the Vatican. The group held up pictures of Church officials and displayed childhood photos of abuse victims.
Courtesy : The News