Survivor group slams Pope Francis' 'disingenuous' statement on priest sex abuse

Members of a group for survivors of priest sex abuse released a statement Sunday dismissing Pope Francis' remarks regarding the issue as "disingenuous."

A press release from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called a meeting between Pope Francis and sex abuse survivors "another feel good, do nothing" event.

"(T)his morning in Philadelphia, Francis said 'I commit to a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected and that all responsible will be held accountable,'" said SNAP's Becky Ianni. "We are sick and tired of these promises by Catholic officials. We’re heard them literally tens of thousands of times."

Ianni called on Francis to declassify Vatican documents about abusive priests.

"He set up a church study panel. He says he’ll set up a church tribunal. But he continues to keep secret every file about every predator and every enabler. His bishops across the world are hiding even more evidence. These hundreds of thousands of pages about crimes should be in the hands of law enforcement. But under Francis, as best we can tell, not one page has been voluntarily provided to one police officer or prosecutor or government official anywhere," Ianni wrote.

"(W)e beg Francis to stop acting like the abuse and cover ups are over and that only healing is needed. That’s disingenuous and dangerous," she said.

"We hope the next time Francis talks about this crisis, it’s to announce tangible prevention steps," she concluded. "And we hope he calls it a continuing crisis, not 'difficult moments.'”