The Irish priest who deals with cases of clerical sex abuse worldwide for the Vatican has described how the work has impacted adversely on him and his colleagues.
Fr John Kennedy has headed the discipline section of the Vatican’s Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2017. He said that the issue of abuse rather than heresy dominates the work of his 17-staff unit.
He described the human cost of the work. “I can honestly tell you that, when reading cases involving sexual abuse by clerics, you never get used to it, and you feel your heath and soul hurting”.
Burden figures
He said: “I have seen bishops who were once smiling pastors turned into morose, burden figures.”
Fr Kennedy added: “This is nothing compared to those [the victims] who have borne this for years in silence…can you imagine what it is like not to be believed by Church authorities?”