Responding to the shameful abuse crisis plaguing the Catholic Church at present, Pope Francis has called the president of every bishops’ conference around the world to a meeting at the Vatican next year.
Following extensive criticism of the Holy Father and the Church hierarchy for not taking concrete actions, the Vatican has now announced a major step in addressing the matter of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.
On Wednesday, 12 September 2018, the Vatican press office communicated that Pope Francis has issued a worldwide summons calling the president of every bishop’s conference in the world to a meeting at the Vatican next year.
The extraordinary meeting will be held from 21-24 February 2019 taking for its theme “Protection of minors”.
The call comes after the 26th Meeting of the Council of Cardinals, known as the C9, earlier this week which addressed the current abuse scandals, reform of the Roman Curia and pastoral care of the Vatican’s personnel.
During the meeting, the pope’s closest advisors publicly expressed their support for Pope Francis in the face of much controversy following an 11-page letter by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò calling the pontiff to resign after the present breakout of abuse scandals.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.
