Come clean, Pope urges priestly sex abusers

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis vowed that the Catholic Church will “never again” cover up clergy sex abuse and demanded that priests who have raped and molested children turn themselves in.

Francis dedicated his annual Christmas speech to the Vatican bureaucracy to abuse, evidence that a year of devastating revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up has shaken his papacy and caused a crisis of confidence in the Catholic hierarchy.

Francis acknowledged that the church in the past had failed to treat the problem seriously, blaming leaders who out of inexperience or short-sightedness acted “irresponsibly” by refusing to believe victims.

“Let it be clear that before these abominations the church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes,” he said.

Francis urged victims to come forward, thanked the media for giving them a voice and issued a stark warning to abusers: “Convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice.”

Francis’ demand that abusers turn themselves in to face “human justice” was significant, and echoed his previous demands for mafia bosses and corrupt politicians to convert.

Vatican guidelines currently only call for bishops to report abusers to police in those countries where civil law requires it – a technicality that survivors and their advocates have long blasted as a convenient dodge to the church’s moral obligation to protect children regardless of what the law requires. — AP