Pope Francis revealed in a meeting with confreres of his Jesuit order last month that he meets with survivors of sexual abuse on a nearly weekly basis, according to a newly released transcript of the encounter.<\/p>\n
In a Jan. 19 question and answer session during his visit to Peru, the text of which was published for the first time Feb. 15 by Italian Jesuit magazine La Civilt\u00e0 Cattolica, the pope said the Catholic Church must hear from those who have been abused by clergy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to listen to what someone who has been abused feels,\u201d Francis told the Jesuits, according to the transcript, and continued: \u201cOn Fridays \u2014 sometimes this is known and sometimes it is not known \u2014 I normally meet some of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process they go through is very tough,\u201d said the pope. \u201cThey are left annihilated. Annihilated!\u201d<\/p>\n
Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said in a statement following the release of the transcript that Francis meets with abuse victims \u201cseveral times a month\u201d in order to listen to them \u201cand to try to help them heal the grave wounds caused by abuse.\u201d Burke said the meetings are held \u201cunder the strictest privacy,\u201d out of respect for the victims\u2019 suffering.<\/p>\n
Boston Cardinal Se\u00e1n O\u2019Malley, the head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said in an email to NCR that Francis \u201chas emphasized being close to the people, especially to the poor and those who have suffered different forms of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy understanding is that he makes a special point of meeting with victims of sexual abuse as minors,\u201d said O\u2019Malley. \u201cRespecting their right to privacy, these meetings are not published. Some have become known \u2026 but most remain anonymous.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read more.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Details:\u00a0 Pope Francis revealed in a meeting with confreres of his Jesuit order last month that he meets with survivors of sexual abuse on a nearly weekly basis, according to a newly released transcript of the encounter. In a Jan. 19 question and answer session during his visit to Peru, the text of which was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":254854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11252],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-279850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-mind"],"yoast_head":"\n
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