Pope Francis promises to help abuse victims after hearing of their trauma and needs
CBSN
Pope Francis promised Saturday to "offer all the help we can" to aid clergy sexual abuse victims, after a group of Belgian survivors told him first-hand of the trauma that had shattered their lives and left many in poverty and mental misery.
Francis' visit to Belgium has been dominated by the abuse scandal, with King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo both blasting the Catholic Church's dreadful legacy of priests raping and molesting children and its decades-long cover-up of the crimes.
Francis met for more than two hours late Friday with 17 survivors who are seeking reparations from the church for the trauma they suffered and to pay for the therapy many need. They said they gave Francis a month to consider their requests, which the Vatican said Francis was studying.
Ukraine's surprise thrust into Russia – armored columns slicing through unprepared defenses, seizing towns and settlements – is perhaps the most audacious gamble in more than two years of war, since the invasion was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There's a big psychological blow here to the Russian mindset, specifically Putin, where you have a Ukrainian penetration of Russian territory, [for the] first time since World War II," said former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley.
Warsaw, Poland — European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pledged billions of euros in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding that has so far claimed 24 lives in the region. Von der Leyen paid a quick visit to a flood-damaged area in southeast Poland and met with heads of the governments of the affected countries — Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.