Boston Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, listens as Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with members of the commission at the Vatican in this file photo from April 29, 2022. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Establishing clear procedures for protecting vulnerable people against abuse “must become a priority in every local church,” Pope Francis said.
In a message to participants at the second Latin American congress on the prevention of abuse, the pope said that while church leaders have done much to combat the evil of abuse, it remains a “clear and present danger” to the faithful that “continues to degrade the Lord’s Gospel in the eyes of all.”
Under the theme “care, inform and communicate,” the conference in Asunción, Paraguay, March 14-16 brought together scholars, pastors and child protection experts to reflect on how to better protect minors in Latin America from abuse.
Pope Francis noted that special attention must be given to ensuring the measures created in his 2019 apostolic letter “Vox Estis Lux Mundi,” which called for clear and accessible paths to justice for abuse victims, be implemented in “parts of the church where efforts to promote adequate preventative measures are still in their first stages due to a lack of resources.”
“We should not allow the cruel inequalities that affect our societies to affect our church,” he wrote.
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Abuse is ‘clear and present danger,’ pope says; local action essential – Detroit Catholic
Abuse is ‘clear and present danger,’ pope says; local action essential – Detroit Catholic
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