Francis warns Catholic leadership that 'there is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors'

Letter to Church leadership warns that abuse will not be tolerated

Pope Francis has issued a stern reminder to the leaders of the Catholic Church, giving the presidents of bishops' conferences around the world a letter in which he said that Catholic leadership must protect children and vulnerable adults from abuses at all costs.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - In a letter dated from early February, Francis said: "Priority must not be given to any other kind of concern, whatever its nature, such as the desire to avoid scandal, since there is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors," he said.

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"Families need to know that the Church is making every effort to protect their children. They should also know that they have every right to turn to the Church with full confidence, for it is a safe and secure home," he continued.

In the letter Francis also stressed that he desires to continue encouraging the Church's long established commitment to protecting people "at every level-episcopal conferences, dioceses, institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life-to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults and to respond to their needs with fairness and mercy."

Pope Francis also made it very clear that leaders in the Church are still expected to implement decisions made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith back in 2011, which require all dioceses in the world to develop guidelines and pursue any allegations of abuse made.

He stressed that ensuring abuses do not happen, or are caught and punished when they do occur is "the responsibility of diocesan bishops and major superiors," and that they should "ascertain that the safety of minors and vulnerable adults is assured in parishes and other Church institutions."

However, the Church needs to go above and beyond just halting and punishing abuses, but also has a "duty to express the compassion of Jesus toward those who have suffered abuse and toward their families," and Catholic institutions should "include provisions for psychological assistance and spiritual care."

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The heads of these Catholic institutions "should be available to meet victims and their loved ones," Francis said. These meetings are necessary and "valuable opportunities for listening to those who have greatly suffered and for asking their forgiveness," he continued.

Pope Francis has been tough on allegations of child abuse against Catholic clerics since first becoming Pontiff in 2013. In December of that year he established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in order to improve the ways that the Church could protect children; this latest letter is just another example of Francis' wisdom in healing rifts between the Church and dissatisfied Catholics.

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