In response to the Vatican’s May 16th request that all bishops to formulate policies on the sexual abuse of minors, the Federation of Roman Catholic Asian Bishops’ Conference will host a 6-day seminar in Bangkok on “The Impact of Pedophilia.”
Msgr. Charles Scicluna, a official at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Vatican’s chief sexual abuse prosecutor, will join the bishop in creating new, specific guidelines.
Hisashi Yukimoto of Religion News Service reports (See Asian bishops say abuse isn't just 'a problem of the West') that many Asian bishops have admitted to an increase in “letters from different quarters of the church that pedophilia has already become a considerably serious problem in Asia.”
An announcement on the Federation’s website is remarkably candid:
“Let us not be complacent that pedophilia is a problem of the West or the other continents of the world; it is equally prevalent in many countries of Asia.”
