Pope Calls For A Thorough Investigation Into Abuse Within The Church

MADRID, June 9 (Bernama-dpa) -- Pope Leo XIV has described the numerous cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church as a "scourge" that must be tackled with greater determination, reported German news agency dpa. 

In the face of this grave evil, the Church community is called upon to further strengthen its commitment to prevention and a culture of care, the Holy Father said during a meeting with Spanish bishops in Madrid on Monday. The Church must respond with "listening, truth, justice and reparation." 

Among the most painful encounters were those with victims of abuse, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said on the third day of his visit to Spain.

"Every person who has been hurt must find genuine attention, honest care, protection and concrete paths to healing," he urged at the headquarters of the Bishops’ Conference.

During what was described as a “private” meeting, the Pope spoke with six Spanish victims. 

The Holy Father spent an hour with the victims at the Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid and listened to them with “affection and attention”, the Vatican Press Office reported. He also assured them of “his closeness and that of the entire Church community”, it said.

Victims’ associations earlier said that they were unaware of any invitation from the Pope. They criticised the fact that the 70-year-old American apparently intended to meet only a few victims in Spain, behind closed doors.

Representatives from several associations complained to journalists that the aim was clearly to "hide" the issue.

It was only in March that the government and the Church in Spain signed an agreement on compensation for victims of abuse in church institutions, which the left-wing government in Madrid describes as “groundbreaking worldwide”. 

Whilst the Spanish Bishops’ Conference speaks of just over 1,000 documented cases since 1940, the Ombudsman estimates, based on a recent survey, that there are at least 236,000 victims.

--BERNAMA-dpa