LOURDES, France: French bishops on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) approved a program of payouts to victims of sex abuse by priests — but survivors have already objected that the Church has not gone far enough in admitting responsibility. They would prioritize paying victims of abuse where the offenses happened too long ago to be prosecuted. On Saturday, another victim of abuse, Olivier Savignac, objected that the bishops had not waited for the findings of the independent commission. In May, Pope Francis passed a landmark new measure obliging anyone in the Church who knew about sex abuse to report it to their superiors. A few months earlier, a French cardinal, Philippe Barbarin, received a six-month suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority.

Source: Manila Times November 10, 2019 16:12 UTC