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Pope emeritus Benedict the Sixteenth has personally requested forgiveness, from survivors of clerical sex abuse. Benedict released a letter today, responding to a report that faulted his handling of cases while he was archbishop of Munich. Benedict also defended himself, saying he was not aware of sexual abuse, or suspicion of sexual abuse, committed by priests in any of the cases mentioned in the report.
A Catholic priest in Phoenix has apologized and resigned as pastor of a parish, after it was determined that he failed to baptize validly over his two decades of priestly service. The priest had been baptizing people using an invalid formula. He had served as a priest in Brazil, the Diocese of San Diego and the Diocese of Phoenix.
Human trafficking is an open injury on the body of Christ. Those were the words of Pope Francis today, in a video message for the International Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking. The pope condemned the trafficking of laborers, and sex trafficking.
Today is the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita. Josephine was a religious sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan.