Catholic Church sexual abuse cases

Pope Francis said on Sept. 27 that the Catholic Church must "seek forgiveness" over the "scourge" of child sexual abuse, during a visit to Belgium where the Church's dark past looms large.

In a speech before political and civil society leaders that opened his three-day visit to the country, Francis denounced the "tragic instances of child abuse" as a stain on the Church's legacy.

The Archbishop of Rijeka, Mate Uzinic, on Monday spoke about the reports and investigations he has conducted over two-and-a-half years into accusations of clerical sexual abuse of children and minors.

The archbishop in tears revealed gruesome cases of sexual violence committed by priests, but said he had initiated the necessary investigations into all the cases he was aware of.

Both men were “engaging in sexually abusive acts and video documenting the abuse”

Vatican City – The leadership of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference met with Pope Francis during their visit to the Holy See on Monday and Tuesday. Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was one of the main points of discussion in their meetings, including the one with the Pope.

Ljubljana – Delo writes about the battle against sexual abuse by the clergy in Friday’s commentary headlined Even in Italy Things Moved. The newspaper finds “cover-up, the hiding of the perpetrators went on for so long all the wrongs can never be righted”.

Ljubljana – Novo Mesto Bishop Andrej Saje, the head of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, apologised on Sunday to the victims of sexual abuse by clergy on behalf of the Catholic Church in Slovenia, as he marked the day of prayer for such victims.

Some 3,000 paedophiles have operated inside the French Catholic Church since 1950, the head of an independent commission investigating the scandal told AFP days ahead of the release of its report.

The commission's research uncovered between 2,900 and 3,200 paedophile priests or other members of the church, said Jean-Marc Sauve, adding that it was "a minimum estimate".

4547 children and adolescents in Bulgaria aged between 8 and 17 years are growing up in violent and criminal environment. And this has an affect because they end up into a pediatric room - sometimes as victims, in some cases as initiator of violence.

 Pope Francis on Friday issued sweeping new sex abuse legislation for Vatican personnel and diplomats that requires the immediate reporting of abuse allegations to Vatican prosecutors, a policy shift aimed at being a model for the Catholic Church worldwide.

A 21-point plan presented Pope Francis, reported the Bulgarian National Television.

The measures are aimed at combating sexual assaults against children in the Catholic Church.

These include simplified procedures for victims to report offenses and the involvement of external experts in church investigations.