Family-like communities blinded them to ongoing sexual abuse by priests said Catholic religious orders around the world and apologised for having failed to respond which led to misplaced loyalties, denial and cover-ups. The victims in the meantime, have formed a new international alliance to pressure the Catholic Church to face up to its crimes after years of struggling alone In a joint statement. The group, called Ending Clerical Abuse (ECA), brings together activists from dozens of countries on several continents, and will be mobilised in Rome this week when Pope Francis hosts a hotly awaited summit on tackling the wave of child sex abuse scandals shaking the Catholic Church.
The two umbrella organisations representing the world's religious orders issued a joint statement ahead of Pope Francis' sex abuse prevention summit, which opens Thursday.
The orders vowed to implement accountability measures to ensure that cover-ups by religious superiors end and that children are always safe in the presence of clergy. For decades, religious orders have largely flown under the radar with regards to the sex abuse scandal, the focus has been on how diocesan bishops protected their priests and moved them from parish to parish where they were free to abuse again. At Pope Francis' sex abuse prevention summit, there will be two speeches by the Pope, outlining best practices, small group discussions among bishops and a penitential ceremony involving abuse survivors.
Congregations such as the Jesuits, Salesians and Christian Brothers have some of the worst records, since they too moved abusers around and had easy access to young victims, since many orders specialize in running schools.
The Union of Superiors General represents the leadership of male religious orders, which count around 133,000 priests globally. The female branch, the International Union of Superiors General, represents some 500,000 religious sisters. They will each send around a dozen representatives to the Vatican sex abuse summit.
The groups said they were ashamed at how they had failed the most vulnerable they were meant to serve and blamed "the strong sense of family" that their communities fostered for having blinded them to the warning signs.
The statement also condemned recent revelations of priests and bishops who sexually abused seminarians and nuns an abuse of power that has largely gone unpunished since the victims are adults.
While noting the pope's summit is focused on the protection of minors, the groups pledged to find a response.
"This is a matter of grave and shocking concern," they said.
