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 Franco Origlia/GettyROME—The Vatican does things in its own time, and coughing up a response to a damning grand-jury report outlining rampant abuse over seven decades involving more than 300 priests and 1,000 children was no exception. At around 9:30 p.m. in Rome on Thursday, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke issued a carefully worded statement decrying the actions described in the report as "criminal and morally reprehensible."
This is the first time the Vatican has used the word criminal when referring to sex-abuse allegations by its own clergy. In the past, they have consistently referred to these rampant abuses against children as "sins and omissions" that could be made better through "forgiveness and prayer."
By using the word criminal, the Vatican appears to acknowledge victims' demands that clerical sex abuse be considered in secular terms, though it is yet to be seen if they agree to cooperate and allow it to be handled in secular courts. For years, the Vatican has dealt with abusers in its own way, which has generally meant moving them to new parishes or swooping them back to Rome for what amounts to protection.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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