Cases of clerical sexual abuse of minors have cost US dioceses and religious institutions almost two billion euros since 2004. This was reported in the 2013 Report on the Implementation of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People, which has just been published by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The biggest portion (62 per cent) was for settlements while the rest was spent on therapy for victims, lawyers, support for offenders and other expenses.
The report said that last year, “370 new credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor” were lodged by 365 people – nine of them minors, the rest of them adults who said they were abused when they were minors. The majority (53 per cent) of allegations recently made by minors have been found to be unsubstantiated, while 18 per cent have been substantiated.
‘No legal obligation’ to report abuse’
According to the Italian Catholic bishops’ conference, bishops are not legally obliged to report to civil authorities complaints they receive about alleged clerical sexual abuse. This is stated in the guidelines on the subject just published by the bishops. The guidelines add that bishops may have a moral obligation to do so, in consideration for the common good. Great emphasis is placed on the need for a careful selection of candidates for the priesthood.
Corruption aggravates poverty, says Pope
Speaking to bishops of Madagascar, Pope Francis said: “I acknowledge the invaluable commitment of your dioceses in social work. There is an intimate connection between evangelisation and human development. I encourage you to persevere in your attention to the poor and to materially and spiritually support those who devote themselves to them, especially religious congregations.
“I also invite you to call out without fear to all Malagasy society, and especially its leaders, with regard to the issue of poverty, which is largely due to corruption and lack of attention to the common good. Never doubt the strength of the Gospel, nor its ability to convert hearts to the resurrected Christ. It is necessary that Christians bear daily witness to the faith they proclaim [and for this witness to be credible] life must be consistent with faith.”
‘The people lost hope in the government’
Speaking at an assembly of the bishops of Bolivia, Bishop Oscar Omar Aparicio Céspedes, president of Bolivia’s episcopal conference, said: “it is a shame that the people no longer have hope” in the government of President Evo Morales. He said that “because of social decline and corruption, society, the press, authorities, justice and the Church cannot remain silent”, adding that the Church “must do everything in [its] power to make the truth shine, because as the Evangelist John says, the truth shall make you free”.
Pope on confession
Addressing participants at a course sponsored by the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Pope said: “Don’t be too lax or too harsh during confession and always make sure people know when the sacrament of reconciliation is available. Let’s not forget that the faithful often struggle to take part in the sacrament, both for practical reasons and because of the natural difficulty in confessing one’s own sins to another person.
“For that reason we have to work really hard on who we are, on our humanity, so as to never be an obstacle, but to always help people be drawn to mercy and forgiveness.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)