Giordy71@
00giovedì 2 febbraio 2012 08:46
Paedophilia conference at Gregorian University Feb 6-9
The Vatican is determined to wipe out clerical abuse of children, the Holy See's pointman on the issue said Thursday.
Outlining the goals of a February 6-9 conference on paedophilia at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Msgr Charles J. Scicluna said "the worldwide estimates concerning child abuse in society are truly alarming.
"In certain Churches where the code of silence is being broken, the number of reported cases of abuse sharply rose before slowly decreasing again," he added.
The Catholic Church has been rocked by global waves of child-abuse scandals.
Scicluna, who leads the anti-abuse fight at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, added: "There is a desire to act and react well, with determination". The conference, called Towards Healing and Renovation, has been organized by the university together with some departments of the Holy See and the support of the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Participants will include the representatives of 110 Episcopal conferences as well as the Father Superiors of 30 religious orders. One of the speakers at the event will be an abuse victim who will talk about the need for victims to be heard and how to effect change.