The Vatican is launching a task force of experts to help Catholic dioceses and religious orders develop guidelines to handle cases of sexual abuse by clergy and tend to survivors. Vatican officials acknowledged on Friday that bishops in about 10 countries still have no guidelines for dealing with sexual abuse cases. At a news conference presenting the task force, the officials said countries still lacking no guidelines are in that situation because of wars, political upheaval or lack of resources resulting from extreme poverty. The Vatican only requires allegations of abuse be reported in-house, not to police. Bishops around the world have for decades failed to investigate or sanction abusers, often moving them to other dioceses.

Source: CBC News February 28, 2020 15:59 UTC