As Pope Holds Sex Abuse Summit, U.S. Catholics Not Hopeful For 'Bold Moves'
American Catholics have become disappointed as Pope Francis described the meeting as featuring "prayer and discernment" — hardly an ambitious vision for what could have been a momentous event.
Never in the history of the Roman Catholic Church has a pope ordered bishops from around the world to come together and consider how many priests abuse children sexually and how many church officials cover for the abusers. The scandal of clergy sex abuse has deep roots in church history, but church leaders have been notoriously reluctant to acknowledge it and deal with the consequences.
Not surprisingly, when Pope Francis summoned more than 100 bishops to a meeting in Rome to address the "Protection of Minors in the Church," the announcement raised expectations that it could mark a turning point in the Church's lagging response to the
