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After Pope Meets Victims, Vatican Considers Change

Posted Apr 18, 08 6:21 PM CDT in US    Most Covered

(Newser) – Just a day after a Washington meeting where Pope Benedict XVI talked with victims sexually abused by Catholic priests, a Vatican official said the church would consider changes to canon law dictating how the church deals with such offenses, the New York Times reports. Cardinal William Levada holds Benedict’s old post as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.

The cardinal suggested the laws under consideration involved statutes of limitation, as many victims “don’t feel personally able to come forward” until long after the abuse. Benedict's meeting was orchestrated by a cardinal from Boston, a city central to the Catholic abuse scandals in the US. One attendee was “ecstatic” at the chance to have a “free dialogue” with the pontiff.

Source New York Times

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Mary Grant, director of SNAP, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, holds a photo of herself as a 12-year-old.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Pope Benedict XVl enters the General Assembly hall at United Nations.   (AP Photo/United Nations, Mark Garten)
The Vatican's No. 2 official says Pope Benedict XVI recognizes damage and pain caused by the clergy sex abuse crisis scandal.   (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and participate in a news conference and vigil to release a list of U.S. bishops who have been publicly accused of sex abuse.   (AP Photo/William B. Plowman)
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Catholic Church  • Pope Benedict XVI  • Vatican  • sexual abuse  • Pope Benedict's US visit  • clergy abuse scandal  • Canon  • cardinals


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