Church must eliminate child sex abuse and promote women : bishop

Naomi O'Leary
Reuters
Oct. 12, 2012

The Roman Catholic Church must strengthen safeguards against any further sexual abuse of children by its clergy and expand the role of women in the Church, a Canadian bishop said on Friday in a speech to hundreds of his peers at a Vatican conference.

In his address to the Synod of Bishops, convened to discuss how to battle dwindling numbers of practicing Catholics in the face of growing secularization and dissent against its teachings, Bishop Brian Joseph Dunn called on the Church to "become more authentic in our contemporary world".

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Dunn said church leaders must "consider the reasons why this crisis happened" and "put into place measures which will create safe environments for children and all who are vulnerable in the faith community".

Abuse scandals have been one of the greatest challenges faced by the Catholic Church, forcing it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation worldwide and undermining its status as a moral arbiter.

The head of the diocese of Antigonish in eastern Canada, Dunn called on church leaders to "appreciate the depth of hurt, anger and disillusionment associated with this scandal".

Dunn also called for "a deliberate and systematic involvement and leadership of women at all levels of Church life," but stopped short of calling for a female priesthood. The Church's opposition to women priests has proved one of its most divisive regulations.

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Leading religious scholars have said that greater integration of women into Church structures could help reduce cases of abuse, which were largely perpetrated by men.

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Full article at Reuters