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Pope Francis announces he`ll meet with clergy sex abuse victims
Pope Francis announces he`ll meet with clergy sex abuse victims
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Pope Francis says he has "zero tolerance" for any clergy member who violates a child. On Monday, May 26th -- it was announced that Pope Francis has agreed to meet with a group of clergy sexual abuse victims early next month. At least one group says the move by the pope isn't enough.
Pope Francis is expected to meet with a group of victims of clergy sexual abuse at the Vatican.
Peter Isely -- the Midwest Director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (or SNAP) says he's skeptical.
"(The victims) are hand-selected by the Vatican. We don't know who they are. Our organization has not been contacted. We weren't invited. We weren't asked," Isely said.
SNAP is a group that consists of 18,000 clergy sex abuse victims from around the world.
Isely says their voices won't be heard when the clergy sex abuse victims sit down with Pope Francis in June.
"To see this as a meeting, I think is a mistake. This is a negotiation and how this issue is after this negotiation is really what's going to count," Isely said.
On Monday, Pope Francis told reporters: ""Sexual abuse is such an ugly crime...because a priest who does this betrays the body of the Lord. It is like a Satanic Mass."
"This is about criminal behavior. This is about prosecution. This is about the need for accountability and transparency. To start inferring and trying to get Satan into this, that just simply is not a level of discourse or communication that's going to help with this issue," Isely said.
Isely says he believes Pope Francis isn't talking with members of SNAP because of their experience in negotiations.
"If we were brought in, that would mean that the Vatican is really serious about making some serious changes," Isely said.
Even with his skepticism, Isely says he's trying to remain hopeful.
"Part of me is 'hey, he's doing this -- made expectations about this.' Let's everybody expect come out of this with some very dramatic concrete pronouncement out of this meeting," Isely said.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee says it has met with survivors for decades.
Isely, however, says Archbishop Listecki will only meet individually with victims -- and not with a group.