Pope Francis today urged Vatican
disciplinarians to act "with determination" against sexual abuse
committed by members of the Catholic clergy, in his first public
pronouncement on the issue. "The Holy Father in particular asked that
the congregation ... act with determination in cases of sexual abuse,"
the Vatican said in a statement, referring to the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, which handles such cases, after the pope met with
its director. The statement noted that the policy followed "the line
established" by Francis' predecessor Benedict XVI. The Argentine pope,
elected last month, asked for "stepped-up measures to protect minors and
help those who were subjected to such violence in the past". Also in
line with his predecessor, Francis asked for a continuation of
"procedures against the guilty and the commitment of bishops'
conferences (national churches) to formulate and implement the necessary
directives in this area." The scourge of abusive priests burst into
the spotlight more than a decade ago with a cascade of scandals rocking
the Church worldwide, from Ireland to the United States, from Australia
to Benedict's native Germany. The Vatican says it continues to receive
around 600 claims against abusive priests every year, many of them
dating back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Sexual abuse by priests has
often been coupled with cover-ups by their superiors, typically by
transferring them to other parishes.
Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question
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