In Mexico , several decades passed before victims could raise their voices against pedophile priests and for their cases to be acknowledged by the Vatican . In 1997 , a group of victims arrived at the heart of the Catholic Church to present a collective accusation for sexual abuse against a major figure in the Catholic Church : father Marcial Maciel , the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was quite close to Pope John Paul , who also protected the pedophile by ignoring the accusations that dated back to the 1950s .
However, the accusations against Maciel were only the tip of an iceberg formed by thousands of victims abused by other priests and members of the church . Nevertheless, the accusations against pedophiles inside the Catholic Church gained force in Mexico and the world and prompted more victims to share their painful stories , which they hid for years since they felt shame or because of how quickly their cases were discredited . Moreover, the victims were discouraged from revealing their harrowing sexual abuse cases because the majority of the crimes had prescribed , as the abuse took place when the victims were underage and in other cases, victims received large economic settlements to silence them and protect priest and the credibility of the church itself.
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Therefore, in order to eradicate pedophilia and child abuse in the Catholic Church , society and authorities have to take a more active role to punish these heinous crimes and more toward a new law so that crimes do not prescribe. In this sense, it is expected that the government and the Catholic church take a more active role by no longer protecting the criminals and prosecute them. Moreover, the Catholic Church hasn’t taken the necessary measures to punish the abuse , despite Pope Francis ’ interest in solving the accusations against priests and other members of the church . Additionally, parents and families should reconsider leaving their children alone with a priest .
Although the Catholic Church and its priests are not the synonyms of perversion , parents should assume their responsibilities and educate their children and monitor their activities, behaviors, and attitude to prevent sexual abuse .
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