Bishops gather in Rome to address sex abuse

BISHOPS from all over the world gathered yesterday for a Vatican-sponsored conference in Rome to help draft guidelines to deal with and prevent sexual abuse by clerics in the Catholic Church.

The conference is not only focusing on areas, such as Europe and the US, where scandals have already made headlines, but will try to address places where it has not attracted public attention yet and where few victims have come forward.

The four-day conference entitled “Toward Healing and Renewal,” has been organized by the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome and, according to Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, enjoys the “full support” of the Roman Curia and the Vatican Secretariat of State.

According to Msgr. Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sex abuse cases, awareness of the problem is growing in Asia.

Last November, Monsignor Scicluna addressed a closed door meeting on sexual abuse organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in Bangkok.

“There is awareness that something needs to be done,” he said on February 3.

At the same time, he said Vatican law must take into account cultural differences that might hinder the detection of abusers.

Report from ucanews.com