Bishops from all over the world are gathered today for a Vatican-sponsored conference in Rome to help draft guidelines to deal with and prevent sexual abuse by clerics in the Catholic Church.

The conference is not only focusing on areas, such as Europe and the US, where scandals have already made headlines, but will try to address places where it has not attracted public attention yet and where few victims have come forward.

The four-day conference: “Towards Healing and Renewal,” has been organized by the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome and, according to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, enjoys the “full support” of the Roman Curia and the Vatican Secretariat of State.

According to Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sex abuse cases, awareness of the problem is growing in Asia.

Last November, Msgr Scicluna addressed a closed door meeting on sexual abuse organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in Bangkok.

“There is awareness that something needs to be done,” he said on February 3.

At the same time, he said Vatican law must take into account cultural differences that might hinder the detection of abusers.

“In some cultures, it’s hard for victims to come forward. We are debating how to change attitudes that favor silence over denunciation.”

Also there is the issue of what is and what is not acceptable in certain cultures, said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a psychotherapist and one of the conference’s organizers.

“What would be unacceptable in the US, such as caressing, kissing or embracing, is normal in the Philippines,” he said.

The protection of children, he stressed, must become “a permanent principle and concern” in every decision of the Church.

Fr Zollner said one of the conference’s main goals was to offer bishops in Asia, and other areas where scandals have yet to emerge, the skills to deal with abuse cases.

One of the conference speakers will be Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila. He will address the topic: “Clergy Sexual Misconduct in Asia”.

Conference participants will attend lectures and workshops on issues including the bishop’s responsibility to protect children and the psychological effects of abuse.