Rome rally against Church abuse
Victims from across the world march seeking stronger action against abusive priests.
Victims of abuse by Catholic priests have staged a march in Rome, Italy’s capital, to deliver a strong message to the Vatican.
About one hundred victims and their relatives held a candle-lit vigil on the edge of St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday, where they left messages for the pope.
The pope, among other leading Vatican officials, has issued apologies for the abuse, but the group wants more action against the perpetrators.
Survivor’s Voice, the US group behind the protest, said that they were not given permission to enter the square collectively.
When Vatican a spokesman came to speak with organisers, a protester shouted “Shame” in Italian.
“This isn’t an attack on faith or religion, it’s about behaviour and ethics,” Marco Lodo Rizzini, a spokesman for child victims of abuse from Italy’s Antonio Provolo Institute for the Deaf, said.
“The pope keeps saying child abuse is a crime, but he needs actually to take some concrete action.”
Claims of abuse by members of the Roman Catholic Church have been heard across Europe and the US.
The church has been criticised for covering up such incidents and allowing the institution to become a haven for paedophilia.