Vatican City, Feb 17, 2019 / 04:46 am
Pope Francis on Sunday asked for prayers for a meeting of the presidents of bishops' conferences around the world, which is slated to take place later this week.
During his weekly Angelus address Feb. 17, the pope invited Catholics to pray for the four-day event, which he said he wanted to hold "as an act of strong pastoral responsibility before an urgent challenge of our time."
The Feb. 21-24 summit on the protection of minors in the Church will focus on the themes of responsibility, accountability, and transparency of bishops. It will also include testimony of victims of abuse, Mass, and a penitential liturgy.
The meeting will take place just days after the announcement of the Vatican's decision to laicize former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who the CDF found guilty last week of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power."