VATICAN (voa) – Pope John Paul the Second has summoned top U.S. Catholic officials to Rome for an extraordinary meeting to talk about the sex scandals in the U.S. Catholic Church.
Vatican officials say the meeting will probably take place next week. Bishop Wilton Gregory, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will attend along with at least eight U.S. cardinals.
The Vatican’s meeting request Monday came just days after the scandals dominated talks between the pontiff and top U.S. bishops during a semiannual conference in Rome.
Bishop Gregory told a news conference in Rome Saturday that Pope John Paul was “deeply touched” by the pain of the victims of sexual abuse by the American priests. He added that the Pope also expressed his backing of the U.S. church.
The sex scandals have surfaced in many U.S. cities including Boston, St. Louis and Los Angeles. The church has paid millions of dollars in damages to victims and faces many lawsuits.
The U.S. Catholic Church is accused of covering up misconduct by priests by transferring them from parish to parish after they were linked to sexual misconduct.
