The Pope

[Sector 7]

I have been very critical of Popes and the Catholic Church hierarchy for protecting pedophile priests. Today, I bring good news:

VATICAN CITY, April 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to "act decisively" to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure that the perpetrators undergo due process, the Vatican said on Friday.

Officials said that Francis, in a meeting with Holy See doctrinal chief Archbishop Gerhard Muller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important "for the Church and its credibility".

Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a major scandal over priestly abuse of children.

I wanted to like this pope, but this issue prevented me from it. I pray Francis follows through to "ensure that the perpetrators undergo due process".

I admit that, so far, Francis has exemplified the teachings of Jesus in his public ministry.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I admit that, so far, Francis has exemplified the teachings of Jesus in his public ministry.

Yes. I am quite impressed.

 

[cooleddie74]

It's a promising start. Only time will tell, but he's already shown more public spine in favor of positively revamping the image of the Roman Catholic Church in just the past three weeks than Benedict did in almost eight years in the Papacy.

 

[Shanndee]

It's a promising start. Only time will tell, but he's already shown more public spine in favor of positively revamping the image of the Roman Catholic Church in just the past three weeks than Benedict did in almost eight years in the Papacy.

I am actually cautiously optimistic. This is the first time in a very long time that news out of the Vatican doesn't automatically fill me with rage.

I hope this man can live up to his promise. It will never be enough to bring me back to this faith (that would take nothing short of complete doctrine overhaul), but it would be nice to respect the church instead of hating it.