Pope Francis called a summit of all Catholic bishops to put in motion a more concrete plan of preventing, punishing and altogether eradicating assault and abuse perpetrated by Church officials.

The summit was a place for bishops to convene, for victims to give their testimony and for resolutions to be made. The participants expressed their anger and sorrow at the corruption and evil that has crept into the Church and taken root.

“In people’s justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons,” Pope Francis said.

The Pope spoke about waging an “all-out battle” on the crimes that pervade the Church and about standing up for the victims and making sure that stories like theirs never occur again.

By far, the most moving speakers were the women. Several women who had been assaulted by members of the Church were invited to speak at the summit and share their stories. By their witness, they called out Church superiors for their inaction and shocked them into silence. Their devastating stories of abuse and irreparable hurt prompted everyone to fully understand that inaction was really defense of the abusers and perpetrators, and even encouragement, as negligence would allow more people to become victims.

The summit emphasized how morally responsible and culpable Church officials are for inaction or covering up scandals within the Church. There can be no ignoring or hiding abuse and assault, and those who try are seriously at fault.

As for concrete plans, the Vatican is expected to publish a step-by-step guidebook to all Catholic bishops to best equip them with how to look into and prosecute cases of assault within the Church. The Vatican City State will also publish a new child protection policy.

We pray that this summit, as well as new Church legislation that is in the works, will make a serious impact in protecting all of God’s children and ensuring that anyone who has caused hurt or harm will be brought to justice.