The Pope announces his readiness to receive the authors of the "Soviet" report on the crimes of the Church

Pope Francis announced his readiness to receive the members of the Independent Commission on Sexual Violence in the Church, who drafted the Sovereign Report.

Pope Francis has announced that he is "ready" to receive the members of the Independent Commission on Sexual Violence in the Church, who drafted the "Souvée" Report, the head of the French Bishops' Conference said Monday, hours after meeting the pontiff.

"The Pope told us that he wanted first and foremost to listen to us, and he was fully prepared to receive the members of the independent commission," Monsignor Eric de Moulin-Beaufort said during a press conference in Rome.

Pope Francis was scheduled to receive members of the commission on December 9, but the meeting was postponed indefinitely, officially due to reasons related to the Pope's schedule.

On Monday morning, the Pope received, in a special session, a delegation from the Conference of French Bishops, including its president, deputy and spokesman, Hugues de Walmont, to discuss the report (Jean-Marc) Sauvé on sexual crimes against children in the Catholic Church since the fifties, which was recommended by the French Church.

"We held a meeting for more than an hour, in a serious, but also fraternal, atmosphere," Monsignor told reporters. He added, "The Pope listened to us with great interest," "thanked us," and "encouraged us to continue the path we started."

Regarding the methodology of investigations that were the subject of criticism in the Catholic world, Monsignor stressed that the Pope “returned to the necessity of interpreting ancient facts according to the interpretation of that era. We were also able to confirm that the interpretation has changed because we know today what the victims suffer and the extent of the shock. From this point of view, the Pope said Immediately: You're right, that's the point."

The Pope did not mention the text of the Catholic Academy in France, the unofficial body of Catholic intellectuals, of which eight of its members denounced "flawed methodology", according to Souvet's report.

The meeting comes a week after the Pope called for "caution" about the "interpretation" of this report, which he admitted he had not read.

Monsignor Moulin-Beaufort declared: "I have never doubted the support of the Pope in his determination for the Church to get rid of her ambiguous position on these issues, and today to care for the victims."