Pope calls for 'all-out battle' against sex abuse by clerics

Feb 25, 20190

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Pope Francis attends a penitential liturgy at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. The pontiff is hosting a four-day summit on preventing clergy sexual abuse, a high-stakes meeting designed to impress on Catholic bishops around the world that the problem is global and that there are consequences if they cover it up. (Vincenzo Pinto/Pool Photo Via AP)

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis ended a landmark Vatican meeting on clerical sexual abuse with an appeal "for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors," which he compared to human sacrifice, but his speech did not offer concrete policy remedies demanded by many of the faithful.

In the speech in the Apostolic Palace's frescoed Sala Reggia hall, Francis argued that "even a single case of abuse" - which he said was the work of the devil - must be met "with the utmost seriousness" by the Roman Catholic Church. He said that eradicating the scourge required more than legal processes and "disciplinary measures."

http://www.startribune.com/pope-calls-for-all-out-battle-against-sex-abuse-by-clerics/506304352/