In their first formal reports to the entire Synod of Bishops, many of the gathering's working groups reported that they had discussed the clerical sexual abuse crisis and, especially, its impact on young Catholics.
The theme of the synod is "young people, the faith and vocational discernment," but the working group English-A, which includes bishops from the United States, Australia, Ireland and England, said, "the context for vocational discernment has changed utterly. Our group suggests that the issue of child sexual abuse in the church cannot be skimmed over tangentially in a few short sentences."
