Vatican to bishops: Meet with victims

A Vatican committee sent a letter on Tuesday warning that the credibility of the Catholic Church is in jeopardy over the global sexual abuse scandal. The letter went to the presidents of bishops’ conferences around the world who will gather in February for a Vatican summit on sexual abuse prevention. The organizing committee urged attendees to meet personally with victims beforehand “to learn firsthand the suffering they have endured.”

Some Catholic bishops around the world continue to deny the scope of the problem and have never met with a victim, while others have been deterred in efforts to increase accountability. Last month, the Vatican suspended two votes by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that would have established more accountability and transparency in the U.S. church. The conference president, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, said the Vatican halted the vote so any action could be informed by the global summit.