Even as Pope Francis continues to remove priests and bishops involved in sexual abuse, there has not been a sustained effort by the Church in the Philippines to rid its ranks of sexual offenders.
In a landmark move in 2002, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), under Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, apologized for the reported sexual abuses, including adultery, homosexuality and child sex abuse by at least 200 priests over 20 years.
It was the first official response of the Filipino bishops to the sexual abuse scandal hounding the Church.
In 2003, the CBCP laid down guidelines for dealing with sexual offenses by the clergy. —Danny Petilla
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