Pope Says "Thank You" to Journalists Who Exposed Catholic Sexual Abuse Scandal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the journalists who exposed the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals.

According to CNN, on the 13th (local time), at an event honoring journalists who have long covered the Vatican, the Pope said, "I am grateful for revealing the corruption within the Church," and added, "Thank you for ensuring we do not cover it up and for raising your voices for the victims."

Pope Francis highly praised the mission of the press in contributing to the world. He emphasized the importance of uncovering what is happening in the outside world to counter false information spreading mainly online. In particular, he defined the mission of journalists as "explaining the world and making it less ambiguous so that people living in the world fear it less."

The Catholic sex abuse scandal erupted in 2002 when the American daily newspaper Boston Globe exposed the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and the widespread culture of cover-up within the Church. Since then, the scandal spread like wildfire across the United States, South America, and beyond, shaking the Church and the world. Last month, a significant investigation revealed that over 200,000 children had been victims of sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church over the past 70 years.

Since his inauguration in 2013, Pope Francis had been criticized for being passive in investigating the sex abuse scandals. In 2018, he sparked fierce criticism by defending Bishop Juan Barros, who was accused of covering up the sexual crimes of former Chilean priest Fernando Karadima. However, the Pope later publicly apologized and promised never to cover up misconduct in the Church again, demonstrating his determination to eradicate crimes.

In 2019, Pope Francis called for an "all-out war" against crimes that must be eliminated from the earth. In June of this year, the Catholic Church revised its canon law for the first time in 38 years, explicitly stipulating the punishment of clergy who commit sexual crimes against minors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.