His Holiness Pope Francis while addressing the gathering at the close of the final Mass for the Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, pointed out to the concern of the church regarding the evil of child abuse. The Pontiff highlighted that the time has arrived to work together to eradicate this evil and he remarked that “The time has come to find a correct equilibrium of all values in play and to provide uniform directives for the Church, avoiding the two extremes of a ‘justicialism’ provoked by guilt for past errors and media pressure, and a defensiveness that fails to confront the causes and effects of these grave crimes.”
As reported by Vatican news, Speaking to church leaders, primarily the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences, the Pontiff emphasized that “The Church’s aim will be to hear, to watch over, protect and care for abused, exploited and forgotten children, wherever they are.” Further, His Holiness added, “To achieve that goal, the Church must rise above the ideological disputes and journalistic practices that often exploit, for various interests, the very tragedy experienced by little ones”. His Holiness Pope Francis highlighted that “the work of the Meeting has made us realize once again that the gravity of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies”
His Holiness Pope Francis concluded his remarks by highlighting that “The Church feels called to combat this evil that strikes at the very heart of her mission, which is to preach the Gospel to the little ones and to protect them from ravenous wolves”. The Pontiff insists, “if in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness”.
