Sexual violence by priests and other church officials has severely impacted the lives and violated the rights of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly children. Unfortunately, this is not a “problem of the past;” widespread sexual violence within the Catholic Church continues today.  In countless cases that span the globe, high level church officials, including Pope Francis, bear responsibility for enabling sexual violence instead of taking the necessary measures to prevent it.

The Catholic Church is governed as a monarchy with the Pope having “supreme, immediate and universal ordinary power.” This is what the Pope can and must do immediately to address sexual violence in the Church.

Read the factsheet to learn more.

Also see our press statement.