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Last week Bishops, Religious and mental health experts met at the Pontifical Gregorian University for a Vatican-backed symposium on clerical sexual abuse.
Called “Toward Healing and Renewal” — the aim of the Symposium was to change the culture of how the church deals with cases of pedophile priests.
At the end of the meeting a new internet-based “Center for Child Protection” was unveiled this afternoon in Rome, designed to educate priests, deacons, and other church personnel in fighting child abuse.
With a budget of $1.6 million over its first three years, the center will provide on-line training and certification programs in German, English, Italian and Spanish. It’s a joint project of the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome, the Munich archdiocese, and the University of Ulm in Germany.
Pope Benedict XVI marked the opening of the symposium on clerical sexual abuse by calling upon bishops to respond in a “Christ-like” manner to clerical abuse as part of a “profound renewal” of the Church. The Pope’s wishes were expressed in a communiqué from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
On Tuesday a liturgy of penance to ask forgiveness for the sexual abuse of children by priests, and for church leaders who covered up that abuse took place in the Church of St. Ignatius. The service was lead by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who serves as Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops. His participation was seen as significant, because it implicitly acknowledged that the church’s shortcomings are not limited to priests who committed abuse, but also include bishops who failed to act.
Sources
- Reuters
- NPR
- Pontifical Gregorian University
- NCR: Web-based Centre for Child protection launched
- NCR Penance and a Spirit of “Never again”
Image: Reuters
