Bishops Told Pedophiles Lie, Victims Must Be Heard

ROME (AP) — Psychologists have told bishops from around the world that priests who rape and molest children often lie when confronted with an accusation and that victims usually tell the truth and need to be believed in order to heal.

The messages were delivered Tuesday at a Vatican-backed symposium on clerical sex abuse that is aimed at helping bishops create tough policies to protect children and root out pedophiles from the priesthood.

Advocates for victims have dismissed the symposium but organizers say it shows an unprecedented commitment by the Vatican to crack down on abuse.

Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a psychologist who ran a U.S. treatment center for abusive priests, told the conference that bishops for too long took the word of manipulative priests over victims.