Vatican voices 'shame and sorrow' over sex abuse report

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The Vatican expressed "shame and sorrow" on Thursday over revelations that Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, the US, sexually abused about 1,000 people over seven decades, vowing to hold abusers and those who protected them accountable.

In a long statement that broke the Vatican's silence over a damning US grand jury report that has shaken the American Church, spokesman Greg Burke said the Holy See was taking the report "with great seriousness."

He stressed the "need to comply" with civil law, including mandatory reporting of abuse against minors and said Pope Francis understands how "these crimes can shake the faith and spirit of believers" and that the pontiff wanted to "root out this tragic horror."

Two members of the Fortney family console each other, as Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro describes the abuse their family suffered at the hands of Father Gus Giella, during a news conference on the findings of the Grand Jury Report on Child Sexual Abuse in six Catholic Dioceses in Pennsylvania at the State Capital, August 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

The grand jury on Tuesday released the findings of the largest-ever investigation of sex abuse in the US Catholic Church, finding that 301 priests in the state had sexually abused minors over the past 70 years. It contained graphic examples of children being groomed and sexually abused by priests.

"The abuses described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible. Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith," Burke said.

"The Church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur," he said.

His statement came hours after US bishops called for a Vatican-led probe backed by lay investigators into allegations of sexual abuse by former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who resigned last month. The Vatican did not directly address their request.

Parishioners worship during a mass to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

Pope Francis accepted McCarrick's resignation in July after American church officials said allegations that he sexually abused a 16-year-old boy almost 50 years ago were credible and substantiated.

McCarrick was possibly the first cardinal to resign since French theologian Louis Billot, who according to the National Catholic Reporter, a US newspaper, left over a disagreement with Pope Pius XI in 1927.

"The overarching goal in all of this is stronger protections against predators in the Church and anyone who would conceal them, protections that will hold bishops to the highest standards of transparency and accountability," Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement.

Source(s): Reuters