Pope Francis Quietly Cuts Sanctions for Pedophile Priests
Applying his vision of a merciful Church even to its worst offenders, Pope Francis was found to have quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests. This policy earned condemnation from sex abuse survivors after a criminal court convicted a clergyman who was a beneficiary of the pontiff's clemency.
The case concerns Rev. Mauro Inzoli, who was found guilty by the Vatican and ordered defrocked in 2012 for abusing young boys, the Associated Press reported. But the well-connected Italian priest appealed the decision and in 2014, Francis reduced the sentence to a lifetime of prayer.
Aside from prohibiting Inzoli from celebrating Mass in public and being near children, the pope also barred him from his diocese and ordered him to undergo psychotherapy for five years. A statement on the penalty's reduction read by Crema Bishop Oscar Cantoni stated that "no misery is so profound, no sin so terrible that mercy cannot be applied."
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But in November last year, an Italian court convicted Inzoli of molesting five children aged 12 to 16 and sentenced him to a prison term of four years and nine months. The criminal judge who heard the case was also convinced that the priest had other victims but their cases fell outside his jurisdiction.
Critics couldn't help but notice the contrast of Pope Francis' approach with that of Pope Benedict XVI, the latter whose tough stance on sexual offenders in robes was well-known by defrocking about 800 priests during his papacy from 2005 to 2013.
The current pope is being likened to Pope John Paul II who said in 2002 that "there is no place in the priesthood or religious life" for child abusing priests but didn't match the rhetoric with concrete action. Francis also declared "zero tolerance" on abusive priests and vowed to take "all necessary measures" to protect children but with little action.
