Pope Francis I has made quite a splash since he was picked by the papal conclave last month, making his own meals and electing to live in a modest apartment. Now, he's making headlines for announcing that the Catholic Church must "act decisively" to hunt down and punish pedophiles in its clergy.
Pope Francis isn't the first pontiff to take a vocal stand against child abuse in the Church, with Pope Benedict XVI promising to clean up the "filth" associated with the scandals. But Benedict has been criticized for failing to stop the abuse, and perhaps even covering up; Pope Francis' words were directed towards sex abuse-investigating Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith head Archbishop Gerhard Müller yesterday.
Francis also said Archbishop Müller's department must take "measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past," though not everyone's buying it. "Once again, as have happened hundreds of times already, a top Catholic official says he's asking another top Catholic official to take action about pedophile priests and complicit bishops," Barbara Dorris of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) told the Daily News. "Big deal. Actions speak louder than words." Sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have been particularly rampant over the past decade or so, and the Church has been accused of trying to protect their priests by covering them up over the years.
