PAPA HOLDS HIS FIRST MEETING WITH A GROUP OF SURVIVORS OF ABUSE
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✍️ Pope Leo XIV held a meeting with survivors of sexual abuse by priests, discussing the Church's response to the issue.
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👉 Pope Leo XIV met with survivors of sexual abuse by priests
👉 The meeting was a 'fluid' discussion between the Pope and representatives of the Ending Clergy Abuse organization
👉 The group asked the Pope to expand the 'zero tolerance' policy for abuse to the rest of the Church
👉 The Pope acknowledged the difficulty in implementing such a policy globally
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#PopeLeoXIV #TimLaw #PopeFrancisco #Vatican #religion
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Pope Francis held his first meeting on Monday (20) with a group of survivors of sexual abuse committed by priests. One of the participants described it as a 'fluid' discussion on what the Church should do. 'Our goal was to establish a relationship with him and get a commitment to continue the dialogue, and he showed himself open to both,' said Tim Law, co-founder of the American organization Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA, 'end clergy abuse' in free translation). The meeting, held with defenders representing survivors of clerical abuse from over 30 countries, was supposed to last 20 minutes, but it dragged on for an hour, he said. The group asked Pope Francis to extend the 'zero tolerance' policy for abuse to the rest of the Church, a measure already adopted in the United States. According to a letter established by US bishops, a Catholic priest or deacon is permanently expelled from the clergy when a single act of sexual abuse of a minor is proven or admitted. Pope Francis 'said it's difficult, that there is great resistance in certain areas of the world to a universal law,' Law said. 'So we had a debate about what that meant,' he added. Law admitted that Pope Francis 'can't do much' as pope and noted that when his predecessor opened the doors to blessings for same-sex couples, the idea was rejected by many African bishops. 'So we want to participate in the debate, and he himself repeated that phrase, about participating in the debate, so we can discover where the resistance is and if there's any way to dialogue,' Law said. ECA wrote to Pope Francis requesting a meeting after his election in May as leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. Law described the meeting as a 'great step', 'historic', and 'surprising', and said they discussed the report last week from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which exposed how many churches are still struggling to deal with abuse. 'The survivors in our group said frankly that they were wonderful and beautiful words, but no action was taken,' Law told AFP. 'And he nodded his head, as if he agreed. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I think he understood,' he emphasized. The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis received ECA in audience, without revealing what was discussed.
https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/mundo/papa-realiza-sua-primeira-reuniao-com-grupo-de-sobreviventes-de-abusos/