Zollner, who is a leading expert in child protection and one of the chief organisers of February's summit on child protection, says the Church's responsibility to obey the laws of the land was clarified several years ago.

He says in 2011 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith told every bishops' conference that the Church must obey civil laws regarding cases of abuse.

"So, if a state - in a durably democratic, regulated and legitimate situation - arrives at the conclusion that a representative of the Church, whether a deacon, priest, bishop or cardinal has committed a crime, this must not only be respected, it must be accepted.

"This must be the norm of the Church."

Zollner says since the February summit several bishops' conferences have already have revised or begun revising their guidelines for protecting children and handling abuse allegations.

In doing so, some have revised their guidelines to find and implement ways of "cooperating with Civil Authorities".

Zollner says many Conference presidents were reduced to tears when they heard testimonies of survivors of child sexual abuse at the summit and some are seeking the help of the Centre for Child Protection in the formation of Church personnel on the ground.

In addition, projects promised by the Vatican will soon be bearing fruit, he says.

One such project involves promulgation of guidelines for the Vatican City State.

Another is a "vademecum" or handbook the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been developing. It will explain in a step-by-step process, how bishops and religious superiors should handle abuse allegations. It will also include advice as to how they should prepare the relevant documents for the doctrinal congregation when an accusation is found to be credible.

There is no longer any question of people being protected because of their status in the Church.

The guilty verdicts against Cardinals George Pell and Philippe Barbarin demonstrate that church officials, including cardinals, are "no longer untouchable" and that governments will apply the law to them as well, Zollner says.

Pell is maintaining his innocence and is appealing his conviction.

Source

• Crux Now
• Vatican News
• Image: Wikipedia

In the letter, the Netherlands-based Working Group of Catholic Gay Pastors confront Francis on his views about homosexuality and ask him not to validate gossip that a "gay mafia" inside the Church is responsible for systematic clerical sex abuse of children.

They also discuss a document the Pope issued in 2016 which re-emphasises the church's ban on gay priests and the upcoming Vatican summit.

The Working Group says Francis's document about gay priests is a continuation of the policy adopted by his two predecessors "to prevent gay men from being ordained as priests".

They note that while the document affirms the Church's respect for gay priests, it also states:

"Such persons ... find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating appropriately to both men and women."

In addition, the Working Group's letter notes that, last May, many news media reported the pope's support for banning homosexual candidates for the priesthood.

"We now wish to inform you that, as members of the Working Group, we are deeply unhappy with this vision and this policy concerning homosexuality and the priesthood," the letter says.

"We have the distinct impression that the Vatican and the Congregation for the Clergy, and perhaps even you yourself, tend to suggest that those priests who are openly gay are the ones responsible for the sexual abuse of children and minors.

"We disagree with this. We believe that the current major crisis with respect to this context is primarily the result of the disapproval, suppression, denial and the poor integration of sexuality, and especially homosexuality, on the part of many individual priests and within our Church as a whole."

Source

• GCN
• The Daily Beast
• Image: Crux Now

One of the three is Dr Rocio Figueroa Alvear, a Peruvian theologian, who is currently a lecturer in Systematic Theology at Good Shepherd College in Auckland, New Zealand.

The women were speaking at Overcoming Silence - Women's Voices in the Abuse Crisis, a Voices of Faith event in Rome.

Figueroa, Barbara Dorris (USA) and Doris Wagner (Germany) shared personal accounts of abuse they suffered and of the resistance they faced when trying to report what happened to them in their efforts to seek justice.

The women said the February summit in the Vatican would be ineffective unless "victim-centred listening" was at the heart of the bishops' discussions.

All 10 members of the Union of International Superiors General leadership - representing 500,000 women religious worldwide - will be attending the summit.

Survivors will not be at the meeting but will be part of the preparatory work, and be present at a penitential liturgy.

Building on the analysis and experiences of the experts who participated in the event, Voices of Faith has called for urgent action on the following points:

1. A complete list of participants and their credentials, and the agenda of the meeting to be made public at least six weeks prior to its beginning
2. All proceedings and voting on any documents during the meeting to be made public in order to facilitate transparency
3. Diverse voices of women survivors and advocates should be invited to participate and be heard at this meeting. Therefore a dedicated time allocation should be given for women's voices, such as those who spoke in Rome on 27th November.

Source

• voicesoffaith.org
• voicesoffaith.org
• cruxnow.com
• angelusnews.com
• Image: screenshot youtube.com

"If this 2019 meeting ends with nothing more than enthusiastic words about the discussions which have taken place and promises for the future, it will be the end of the road for many who have waited years for the Church to take concrete action," said Marie Collins, Irish clerical sexual abuse survivor, in a Nov. 23 interview with Crux.

Collins, a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, has been steadfast throughout the years in holding the Church accountable and calling for reform.

The interview was conducted by email.

On Nov. 23, the Vatican announced the planning committee for the summit, composed of Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago; Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the Vatican's leading prosecutor on child abuse; German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and head of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University; and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, who also serves on Francis's "C-9" council of cardinal advisors.

The absence of Cardinal Sean O'Malley, a member of the C-9 and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, has been a source of confusion for some.

But for Collins, who isn't organizing it, the event is not as important as the practical measures that it must usher in if it wants to preserve the Church's credibility on sexual abuse.

"What matters most about this meeting is not which cardinals will be taking part or involved in organizing it, but what will be on the agenda?" Collins wrote.

"What is it intended to achieve? What concrete changes will it bring?"

At the same time, Collins pointed to another notable absence in the lineup of organizers: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, who has had a vast experience in a country wreaked by clerical abuse and has enacted effective measures, Collins said, for prevention and child protection.

"He has implemented his safeguarding policy rigorously for many years and has the respect of survivors and the faithful for how he has dealt with the issue and cared for victims," she wrote.

"A man with such practical experience should be at this meeting."

According to the survivor and activist, the February gathering must be three-pronged.

It should aim at implementing "a universal safeguarding policy across all Church entities worldwide," Collins wrote.

This policy should be aligned with Francis's promised "zero tolerance" policy.

Participants must "reach a decision on a clear accountability policy for all church leaders in regard to the handling of cases of the abuse of minors."

Finally, attendees should "discern what changes are needed to canon law to facilitate all necessary provisions in these changes to safeguarding and accountability."

According to Collins, the reality of abuse prevention in the Catholic Church changes drastically depending on location, due to varying sensibilities of bishops and local culture and laws.

"The Church has resisted setting in place global policies to safeguard minors and to hold its leaders accountable," she wrote, creating "huge differentials in safety depending on location."

Collins also criticized the Church's "obsession with secrecy," which, she said, has not only led to unjust treatment of victims but also obstructed canonical trials. Continue reading

• Image: Catholic.ie