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Cardinal Tagle at Vatican summit: Church left deep wounds by covering up sexual scandals


Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Thursday acknowledged that the Catholic church left deep wounds when it ignored the sufferings of the victims of clerical sexual abuse "to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution."

In Lala Roque's report on GMA News TV's State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, Tagle, on the verge of his emotions, said: "The wounds of the risen Christ carry the memory of innocent suffering but they also carry the memory of our weakness and sinfulness."

The clerical sexual abuse summit in Vatican was initiated by no less than Pope Francis to address the increasing number of sexual abuse cases allegedly perpetrated by ordained leaders in the Catholic Church.

Tagle was tasked by the Pope to give the first formal talk on the opening of the summit.

The Manila Archbishop raised a very important question in front of around 190 church leaders gathered in the conference: "How do we as bishops, who have been part of the wounding, now promote healing?"

Recognizing their faults and "drawing close to the wounds" would be the first step, he said.

Also present in the summit were some victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by priests. They were invited to give their personal testimonies and accounts.

Pope Francis vowed to listen and act on the plight of the sexual abuse victims in the Catholic Church. —Dona Magsino/ LDF, GMA News

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