Pope Francis praised U.S. Catholic bishops for their responses to the clergy sex abuse crisis yesterday during an address in Washington, D.C. -- comments that victims called "insulting" and "hurtful" -- the Huffington Post website reports today (September 24, 2015).
The pope applauded what he said was bishops' "generous commitment to bring healing to victims." He also praised them for courage in facing "difficult moments in the recent history of the church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice."
Barbara Blaine of Chicago -- president of Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) -- released a statement decrying the many years of clergy abuse that the church tolerated, as bishops tended to "look the other way" or to transfer a sexually abusive priest to a different community.
"His [Pope Francis's] remarks today confirm what we've long said and suspected: This pope, like his predecessors, is doing and will do little if anything to bring real reform to this continuing crisis," Blaine said. "Those who care about kids must focus on secular authorities, not church figures."
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