Pope Francis summons bishops to Vatican for summit on preventing sex abuse [View all]

Pope Francis, signaling the Catholic Church's inability to defuse long-running clergy sex scandals, on Wednesday summoned the presidents of Catholic bishops conferences worldwide to the Vatican in February to discuss protecting children and preventing sexual abuse by priests.

The meeting, on February 21-24, is believed to be the first of its kind and comes amid growing criticism over the pope's handling of sex abuse cases dating back decades.

In addition, Pope Francis will meet Thursday with a group of U.S. church figures led by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The meeting will include Francis' top sex abuse adviser, Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

DiNardo has said he wants Francis to authorize a full-fledged Vatican investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was removed as cardinal in July after a credible accusation that he groped a teenager. McCarrick, 88, served as Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006.

At: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pope-francis-summons-bishops-to-vatican-for-summit-on-preventing-sex-abuse/ar-BBNdU4v

Making a point as he discusses church problems, Francis' handling of the inherited abuse scandal is drawing mixed reactions.