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Pope Francis leaves the VI Paul at the end of his meeting with youths attending the Vatican on Saturday. The three-week meeting will likely be dominated by what many analysts call Catholicism's worst crisis since reformation.
Gregorio Borgia / AP
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Gregorio Borgia / AP
Pope Francis leaves the VI Paul at the end of his meeting with youths attending the Vatican on Saturday. The three-week meeting will likely be dominated by what many analysts call Catholicism's worst crisis since reformation.
Gregorio Borgia / AP
A clerical sex abuse scandals buffet the Catholic Church, a three-week assembly of bishops is under way in Rome. But the assembly, known as a synod, will likely be dominated by what many analysts call Catholicism's worst crisis since the reformation.
Roughly 250 priests, bishops, cardinals and some younger laypersons are participating in the synod.
In the opening mass, Francis Pope urged them "to dream and to hope."
And he prayed for God's help to ensure the Church does not let itself "be extinguished or crushed by the prophets of doom and misfortune, by our own shortcomings, mistakes and sins."
Spiraling sex abuse scandals have hurt the pope. A new Pew Research Center poll found Francis' rating favorability in the United States is 51 percent – down 19 points since January 2017.
The End of Clergy Abuse – voiced their anger at the church.
"We must have unity," a protestor shouted, "that's the only way we can bring this evil to an end."
Arturo Borelli said he was abused by a priest who fled both civil and Church justice.
Nearby, some 20 people – Italians and other Europeans – plac plac plac plac,,,,,,,,,,,,
"I think we are in the deepest crisis of the Roman Catholic Church," said Christian Weisner, one of the German founders of the progressive Catholic movement We Are Church.
He believes Francis is doing the best he can handling the crisis but needs much more support from bishops.
Especially now at the youth synod, the bishops they have to face this problem, they have to give answers, "Weisner said.
Clerical sex abuse is not the only way out haunting the Catholic Church.
On the eve of the synod, a group of Catholic women activists in Rome to request decision-making positions in the Church for women.
Purpose Chantal Goetz, founder of the movement Voices of Faith, acknowledged nothing as a change of faith.
"The whole government structure is crippled and paralyzed by clericalism," he said.
Celia Wexler, author of a book on women's struggles in the Church, Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hopesaid that it is hard for them because they have been taught to obey.
"I think we have to come to the point where we do not ask permission, we speak and speak up and talk to one another," she said.
And that's exactly what some women did as synod participants were entering the assembly hall. Organized by the Women's Ordination Conference, The Peaceful Protest in the Litany of Companies.
"Pope Francis, let women vote." Cardinal Sarah, let women vote, Cardinal Marx, let women vote … Knock, Knock, who's there? More than half the church, "they chanted.
The women were denouncing gender discrimination – at the synod, laymen have been granted the right to vote but the few participants can not.
The peaceful demonstration ended up in the hands of the police – officers in plainclothes and others with bulletproof vests – intervened, manhandling several of the women.
