Catholic bishops in Nigeria are pushing for sex education in schools to fight sexual violence and abuse.
The Bishops on Tuesday said they were ashamed by the increasing rate of sexual molestation of children by clerics.
They said the several sexual abuse cases involving catholic priests were an embarrassment to the church.
A recent global statistics shows that seven out of 10 children have suffered abuses, particularly sexual abuse.
Pope Francis himself recently during a trip to the Irish republic expressed worry at the trend.
He said “The failure of ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, religious superiors, priests and others – adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.”
Catholic bishops in Nigeria say priests and all those who work in Catholic institutions in Nigeria should protect every child and vulnerable adult, the PUNCH reports.
It quotes the bishops as saying in a statement that “Within our family of faith and our human families, the sins and crimes of sexual abuse of children must no longer be held in secret band in shame.
We, bishops, all priests, consecrated men and women and all those who work in Catholic institutions in Nigeria must ensure that there is a safe environment for every child and vulnerable adults.”
The catholic church continues to struggle to deal with such abuses suffered by children in the hands of priests.
Source: Africafeeds.com
