<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pope-francis-urges-predator-priests-who-sexually-abused-minors-to-turn-themselves-in-185719">Pope Francis vowed justice for victims </a>of clerical sex abuse Monday, describing paedophilia as one of the "vilest" crimes ahead of a historic global meet on the crisis roiling the church.

"I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our time, which sadly has also involved some members of the clergy," he said in his annual address to ambassadors to the Holy See.

"The abuse of minors is one of the vilest and most heinous crimes conceivable. Such abuse inexorably sweeps away the best of what human life holds out for innocent children, and causes irreparable and lifelong damage," he said.

Francis swore to "render justice to minors", and said a meeting of the world's bishops in February was "meant to be a further step in the church’s efforts to shed full light on the facts and to alleviate the wounds caused by such crimes".

A litany of child sexual abuse scandals has rocked the Catholic church, which has 1.3 billion followers around the world.

In December the pontiff had vowed the church would never again treat abuse allegations without "seriousness and promptness", calling on abusers to hand themselves in to police.

The Argentine has struggled to resolve the problem as the steady drip of scandal corrodes the church's authority amid sharp divisions in Rome over how to handle the fallout and an apparently endless stream of bad news.

In the latest case to shake the Catholic church, the highest-profile Catholic cleric to be caught up in a paedophile scandal in France went on trial on Monday charged with failing to report a priest who abused boy scouts in the 1980s and 90s.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, in central eastern France, is accused along with five others from his diocese of helping cover up abuse in one of the parishes in the area.

On Friday the Vatican confirmed that an Argentinian bishop who has held a senior position at the Holy See since 2017, is under preliminary investigation over sex abuse claims.

'I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our time, which sadly has also involved some members of the clergy,' Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis vowed justice for victims of clerical sex abuse Monday, describing paedophilia as one of the "vilest" crimes ahead of a historic global meet on the crisis roiling the church. "I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our time, which sadly has also involved some members of the clergy," he said in his annual address to ambassadors to the Holy See. "The abuse of minors is one of the vilest and most heinous crimes conceivable. Such abuse inexorably sweeps away the best of what human life holds out for innocent children, and causes irreparable and lifelong damage," he said. Francis swore to "render justice to minors", and said a meeting of the world's bishops in February was "meant to be a further step in the church’s efforts to shed full light on the facts and to alleviate the wounds caused by such crimes". A litany of child sexual abuse scandals has rocked the Catholic church, which has 1.3 billion followers around the world. In December the pontiff had vowed the church would never again treat abuse allegations without "seriousness and promptness", calling on abusers to hand themselves in to police. The Argentine has struggled to resolve the problem as the steady drip of scandal corrodes the church's authority amid sharp divisions in Rome over how to handle the fallout and an apparently endless stream of bad news. In the latest case to shake the Catholic church, the highest-profile Catholic cleric to be caught up in a paedophile scandal in France went on trial on Monday charged with failing to report a priest who abused boy scouts in the 1980s and 90s. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, in central eastern France, is accused along with five others from his diocese of helping cover up abuse in one of the parishes in the area. On Friday the Vatican confirmed that an Argentinian bishop who has held a senior position at the Holy See since 2017, is under preliminary investigation over sex abuse claims.

Pope vows justice for victims of 'vile' sex abuse

Hundreds of people in Warsaw of Poland took streets on Sunday to protest against child sex abuse in the Catholic Church -- a first major such rally in Catholic Poland.

The protestors marched through the capital with banners reading "Bishop, protecting paedophiles is a crime" and "We are fed up with the clergy's cowardice".

The protestors also carried a country's map with the black crosses to mark places where complaints about child sex abuse have been made against clerics.

They also stopped in front of four churches in Warsaw to read out victims' accounts.&nbsp;

Before the archbishop's seat, a long list of Polish cities and towns with documented paedophilia cases was read out to the sound of drums and with the crowd shouting "Shame!" in between.

There are no official statistics on the number of Polish priests convicted of child sex abuse, but a Polish association that helps victims estimates there were around 56 over nearly two decades, including clergy convicted of possessing child pornography.

Protests also took place in other Polish cities including in Poznan where an appeal court on Tuesday upheld a verdict ordering a Catholic priests' society to pay out record damages to a former child victim of a paedophile priest.

The ruling was the first of its kind in a country where the Church still wields considerable influence.&nbsp;

It is under increasing scrutiny worldwide over clerical sex abuse claims.

Pope Francis has called for a meeting of all the heads of Catholic bishops' conferences worldwide at the Vatican next February to discuss the issue of the "protection of minors".

In Poland, the recently released film "Kler" (The Clergy) about abuses and corruption in the Catholic Church drew close to two million spectators within a week -- a record in the country of 38 million.

(With inputs from agencies)

Hundreds of people in Warsaw of Poland took streets on Sunday to protest against child sex abuse in the Catholic Church -- a first major such rally in Catholic Poland.

Hundreds of people in Warsaw of Poland took streets on Sunday to protest against child sex abuse in the Catholic Church -- a first major such rally in Catholic Poland. The protestors marched through the capital with banners reading "Bishop, protecting paedophiles is a crime" and "We are fed up with the clergy's cowardice". The protestors also carried a country's map with the black crosses to mark places where complaints about child sex abuse have been made against clerics. They also stopped in front of four churches in Warsaw to read out victims' accounts. Before the archbishop's seat, a long list of Polish cities and towns with documented paedophilia cases was read out to the sound of drums and with the crowd shouting "Shame!" in between. There are no official statistics on the number of Polish priests convicted of child sex abuse, but a Polish association that helps victims estimates there were around 56 over nearly two decades, including clergy convicted of possessing child pornography. Protests also took place in other Polish cities including in Poznan where an appeal court on Tuesday upheld a verdict ordering a Catholic priests' society to pay out record damages to a former child victim of a paedophile priest. The ruling was the first of its kind in a country where the Church still wields considerable influence. It is under increasing scrutiny worldwide over clerical sex abuse claims. Pope Francis has called for a meeting of all the heads of Catholic bishops' conferences worldwide at the Vatican next February to discuss the issue of the "protection of minors". In Poland, the recently released film "Kler" (The Clergy) about abuses and corruption in the Catholic Church drew close to two million spectators within a week -- a record in the country of 38 million. (With inputs from agencies)

Poland sees first anti-paedophilia rally against Catholic Church

catholic-church-over-sex-abuse

Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse, News on Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse, stories on Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse, articles on Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse, Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse stories at Wion, Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse news, Catholic Church Over Sex Abuse latest news

catholic church-over-sex-abuse

Pope vows justice for victims of 'vile' sex abuse

Poland sees first anti-paedophilia rally against Catholic Church