The Vatican has ordered U.S. bishops to halt a planned vote on a range of measures designed to address the ongoing child sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. The order came as over 350 Roman Catholic bishops gathered in Baltimore for their annual conference, where they were set to debate and vote on the reforms. Survivors and sexual abuse survivor advocates condemned the move by the Vatican. This is Anne Barrett Doyle of the advocacy group Bishop-Accountability.org.
Anne Barrett Doyle: “I am stunned and disappointed at the lack of courage being shown by the conference. These are American children being hurt. These are American survivors. These bishops are American citizens. I know that they answer to the Holy See, but there’s a bigger imperative here, which is that children and victims need them to step forth and start being responsible leaders of this institution.”