Clerical sex abuse: it's time to side with the victims

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Sexual abuse

perpetrated by members of the Catholic church all over the world were allowed to take place and increase in number, and now, years later, victims have come forward to denounce the abuse . The problem increased exponentially and as a result, the Vatican held a historical summit against pedophilia last weekend. Pope Francis vowed to eradicate the issue “through concrete and efficient measures .”

Mexico

hasn't been exempt from these cases. Today, EL UNIVERSAL reveals that the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate will carry out interviews to those who aspire to join the seminars in order to identify potential abusers before they join the clergy .

The candidates will have to qualify a series of psychological tests and during their training, a group of experts will monitor its behavior.

The measure is worthy of praise only if the church takes the first steps of many. The Episcopate can't venture and rely on an entry filter . It also requires protocols to prevent sexual abuse cases perpetrated by those who are already part of the clergy , as well as strategies to act in the face of these cases.

Before the first signs of a sexual abuse case perpetrated by a priest , the church's reaction has been to downplay or cover up the case and send the accused to another temple , city, or even a retirement house or rehab facility . A large number of abuses documented in Mexico , as well as in other countries, forces the church to modify its reaction.

For the Vatican , dealing with these topics publicly might not have been easy but continuing to ignore them would have been turned against it. Several voices inside the church have accepted that this is a topic that “hurts and (makes them feel) ashamed ” them.

For years, the victims were attacked, re-victimized , silenced but now, they are on a position where they are demanding actions to fight and eradicate the problem.

The pain and damage inflicted to thousands of people are serious. The solution to eradicating clerical child abuse shouldn't be stalled on psychological tests . The church has a unique opportunity to present a different side of it to the victims , the parish , and society . As the Pope said: it's time to side with the victims and not on the side of the abusers.