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Pope Francis says he has taken it on himself to rid the Catholic Church of sexual abuse, telling CNN Portugal that he was “responsible that it doesn’t happen anymore”.
In a wide-ranging interview in Rome last month, the Pontiff said the church had “zero tolerance” for abuse and said that “a priest cannot remain a priest if he is an abuser”.
“A priest cannot continue being a priest if he is an aggressor. He cannot because he is either sick or a criminal,” he said.
The church’s response to sex abuse scandals has become one of the defining themes of Francis’ time as Pope. He said that every case of abuse within the church “hurts” him.
Multiple reports detailing decades of sexual abuse, systemic failures and cover-ups across multiple countries have been released since Francis became the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics in 2013.
While he has been criticised for some inaction, including defending a Chilean bishop accused of covering up a sex scandal in 2018, Francis has taken a firm stance on the issues and introduced some reforms.
In 2019, he abolished Vatican secrecy rules for cases of sexual abuse. He put in place new rules that made it mandatory for the first time for all dioceses to set up systems for reporting abuse and cover-ups.
Two years later, he issued the most extensive revision to Catholic Church law in four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who abuse minors and vulnerable adults.
Addressing the topic of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, Francis said he didn’t believe celibacy played a role in causing the abuse.
“I don’t deny the abuse. Even if it was only one [case], it is monstrous. Because you, priest, you, nun, have to take that boy, that girl to God, and with this, you destroy their lives. It’s monstrous. It is destroying lives. And then they come to you with questions. Could it be that celibacy [is to blame]? It’s not about celibacy,” Pope Francis said.
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