Pope Francis of the Catholic Church voted to get rid of sexual abuse within the clergy, saying that he is "responsible that it doesn't happen anymore."
During an exclusive interview with CNN in Rome last month, Francis said that the church had "zero tolerance" for abuse and noted that "a priest cannot remain a priest if he is an abuser." The Catholic Church's response to sex abuse scandals has become one of the defining themes of the pontiff's time as Pope after he said that every case of abuse within the church "hurts" him.
Sexual Abuse Within the Catholic Church
There have been multiple reports that detailed decades of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, including systemic failures and cover-ups across multiple countries that were released since Francis, became the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics in 2013.
While Pope Francis has been criticized for covering up a sex scandal in 2018, which was a decision he later described as a "grave error," he has since taken a firm stance on the issues and introduced some reforms within the church, as per CNN.
The pontiff abolished Vatican secrecy rules in 2019 for cases of sexual abuse and put in place new rules that made it mandatory for the first time for all dioceses to set up systems for reporting abuse and cover-ups.
After two years from that time, Pope Francis issued the most extensive revision to Catholic Church law in the past four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who abuse minors and vulnerable adults. Furthermore, the rule demanded action against priests who commit fraud or attempt to ordain women.
According to NDTV, the pontiff described the abuse as "monstrous" because it "destroys lives" as an independent inquiry, led by child psychiatrist Pedro Stretch, found that sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal has so far gathered testimony from around 400 people.
Independent Inquiry
As a result of the investigation, 17 cases have been referred to the judiciary and the findings of the inquiry are expected at the end of the year. Pope Francis said, "I do not deny abuses. A single abuse would already be monstrous."
The pontiff added that he hoped to visit Portugal in August next year for World Youth Day, a gathering of young Catholics. Francis said that he was hoping he was the one to go, adding that the pope would surely take the trip.
Addressing the topic, Pope Francis said that he did not believe that celibacy played a role in causing the abuse. He said that by conducting abuse, priests and nuns were destroying children's lives instead of taking them to God.
Pope Francis said that the conduct of sexual abuse was not related to celibacy, calling it a man or woman of the church who was psychologically ill or evil. He said that these individuals use their position for their personal satisfaction.
The pope also revealed that he has been communicating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone. Francis said that in the past he has met the embattled European leader and his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin when the latter two visited the pontiff in Rome, CTV News reported.
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