A historic summit to deal with the Catholic Church’s clergy abuse scandal starts today in Rome. Pope Francis called for the four-day summit, which for the first time in Catholic history brings together nearly 200 church leaders to address the crisis. 

“We must look this monster in the face without fear if we really want to conquer it,” a Vatican spokesman said. 

The summit comes as the Catholic Church is confronting scandals on several fronts, from the sexual abuse of nuns by clergy to a salacious new book to be published today that calls the Vatican “one of the biggest gay communities in the world.”

(CNN)