Pope Francis criticises US bishops over abuse scandal

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis accused US bishops on Thursday of failing to show unity in the face of a sexual abuse crisis, saying internal bickering had to end over a scandal that has shredded the Church’s credibility.

In a long and highly unusual letter sent to US bishops as they embarked on a week-long retreat, Francis said the handling of the scandal showed the urgent need for a new approach to management and mindset within the Roman Catholic Church.

“God’s faithful people and the Church’s mission continue to suffer greatly as a result of abuses of power and conscience and sexual abuse, and the poor way that they were handled,” the pope wrote, adding that bishops had ‘concentrated more on pointing fingers than on seeking paths of reconciliation’.

Pope Francis has summoned the heads of some 110 national Catholic bishops’ conferences and dozens of experts and leaders of religious orders to the Vatican on Feb 21-24 for an extraordinary gathering dedicated to the now global crisis.

Victims of clergy sexual abuse are hoping that the meeting will finally come up with a clear policy to make bishops themselves accountable for the mishandling of abuse cases.

Ahead of that encounter, US bishops gathered on Wednesday near Chicago for seven days of prayer and spiritual reflection. — Reuters