In 2001, while he was a cardinal, the pope issued a secret Vatican edict
to Catholic bishops all over the world, instructing them to put the
Church's interests ahead of child safety.
The document recommended that rather than reporting sexual abuse to the relevant legal authorities, bishops should encourage the victim, witnesses and perpetrator not to talk about it. And, to keep victims quiet, it threatened that if they repeat the allegations they would be excommunicated.
http://forum.theworldnewsmedia.org/topic/7372-catholic-sex-abuse-coverup/
The document recommended that rather than reporting sexual abuse to the relevant legal authorities, bishops should encourage the victim, witnesses and perpetrator not to talk about it. And, to keep victims quiet, it threatened that if they repeat the allegations they would be excommunicated.
http://forum.theworldnewsmedia.org/topic/7372-catholic-sex-abuse-coverup/
