Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Pope Francis released a first-of-its-kind letter today mourning the Catholic Church's "atrocities" and failures to protect children from abusive clergy.
Why it matters: The Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal is global, with victims and coverups from Australia to Chile, Ireland and the United States.
Details from Reuters' Philip Pullela:
- "[T]he pope appeared to be launching an appeal for all Catholics to face the crisis together and not let it tear the Church apart."
- "In his letter, the pope referred to the suffering endured by minors due to sexual abuse at the hands of a 'significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.'”
- "The Vatican said it was the first time a pope had written to all of the world’s some 1.2 billion Catholics about sexual abuse. Past letters on sexual abuse scandals have been addressed to bishops and faithful of individual countries."
- In Francis' own words: “We have realized that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death."
What they're saying:
- “More actions, less words,” said Anne Barrett-Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org. "He needs an effective discipline process for bishops and religious superiors who are known to have enabled abuse."
- Irish abuse survivor Colm O'Gorman: "He says the church must condemn the crimes of clerics who abused, and seek forgiveness for its own 'sins'... And again, fails to acknowledge the plain fact of the Vatican’s willful cover up of those very crimes. Of their facilitation of them."
Go deeper: