Pope Francis sets up committee to prevent sexual abuse

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After a recent meeting between the Pope and his cardinal advisers, the archbishop of Boston announced that Pope Francis will be convening a committee to prevent sexual abuse of children and offer help to victims. The string of sexual abuse scandals over the years severely damaged the image of the Catholic Church, exacerbated by what critics say is an extremely insufficent and bungled response by its leadership.

Pope Francis said this week that the Church’s credibility hinges on its ability to take definitive action on sex abuse cases .

Earlier this year, the Pope broadened the definition of crimes against minors to include the sexual abuse of children. Last July, a UN committee requested that the Church hand over any information they had regarding sexual abuse cases going back to 1995. But the Church refused, saying that the information was under the jurisdiction of the countries where the alleged abuse took place and not the Vatican.

H/T Aileen Graef