The report notes that Africa, Asia and South America lag behind in creating these structures due to a lack of resources.

It stresses the urgent need for "increasing solidarity among episcopal conferences, to mobilise resources for a universal standard in safeguarding".

The report

In 2022 Pope Francis asked the Commission to draft a report offering "a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that the competent authorities can act".

The report would be a step toward "transparency and accountability" for lay people who are losing trust because of the clerical abuse crisis, Francis said.

The Commission then undertook the first global assessment of the Church's efforts to address its sexual abuse crisis. After having a close look at a dozen countries, two religious orders and two Vatican offices, the Commission analysed its findings and recommendations.

Its subsequent annual report offers "mechanisms for change in the short-term" and guidelines for Church leaders at all levels for implementing safeguarding measures, says Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (pictured) who oversaw the report's drafting.

While progress is being made in some respects, "regrettably much of the Church remains without robust data collection practices or capacities" she adds.

The Church must commit to investing in its data collection infrastructure and resources" she says.

Journey of change

It is ten years since Pope Francis set up the Commission.

The report's analyses offer a "snapshot of the journey of conversion that we have been on" says the Commission president Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston (pictured second from left).

"It is a journey towards a transparent and accountable ministry of safeguarding, towards greater outreach, welcome and support for victims and survivors in their pursuit of justice and healing."

Commission member and sex abuse survivor Juan Carlos Cruz says the report represents a significant step forward and gives him hope for further progress.

"We're using words that we didn't use before. Truth, justice, reparation and a guarantee of non-recurrence...'' he says.

Improvement sought

The report made use of focus groups with clerical abuse survivors who pointed to the main ways the Church has mishandled abuse concerns.

Better access for victims to information about their individual cases is needed, the report says.

It was particularly concerning that victims are often not informed of the outcomes of canonical trials.

In its most critical note, the report called for greater transparency from the Vatican's sex abuse office (the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) which oversees the Pontifical Commission for Minors.

The Dicastery's "slow processing of cases and secrecy were re-traumatising to victims, and its refusal to publish statistics and its own jurisprudence continues to foment distrust among the faithful, especially the victim/survivor community" the report says.

Source

• AP News
• RNS

The Vatican announcement didn't mention O'Malley's other main role as the pope's main adviser on fighting clergy sexual abuse as head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, suggesting he would remain in that capacity until a new commission leader is named.

St John Paul II had tapped O'Malley to take over in Boston in 2003 at the height of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that had exploded there following an investigation by The Boston Globe newspaper. Revelations of years of abuse and coverups by the church led to the downfall of then-archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace in December 2002.

Read More

O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), urged Vatican offices to exercise pastoral prudence and avoid displaying Rupnik's art, which could imply exoneration or indifference to the suffering of abuse victims.

O'Malley's proactive stance contrasts with recent comments from Paolo Ruffini, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication.

Ruffini defended his office's use of Rupnik's artwork, stating "Removing, deleting, destroying art has not ever been a good choice". He stressed the importance of not prejudging Rupnik, as the investigation by the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is ongoing.

Rupnik, renowned for his large-scale mosaics adorning over 200 Catholic sites worldwide including the Vatican's Redemptoris Mater Chapel, faces accusations from at least 30 adult women.

Despite the severity of the allegations, Ruffini maintained that using existing images of Rupnik's work does not undermine the Church's commitment to supporting victims.

Abuse doesn't know age

The controversy arose during Ruffini's address at the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta where he suggested that removing Rupnik's art would not signify greater solidarity with victims.

He also said that "we're not talking about minors" and noted that, as Christians, "we are asked not to judge".

Ruffini's remarks sparked backlash, with critics arguing that the Church should demonstrate sensitivity by discontinuing the display of Rupnik's art until the investigation concludes.

One observer took issue with Ruffini's apparent dismissal of the allegations since they involve adults rather than minors, saying "Abuse doesn't know age".

In contrast, O'Malley's letter to Vatican departments highlighted the need to avoid sending a message that suggests the Holy See is indifferent to the psychological distress of abuse victims.

"Pope Francis has urged us to be sensitive to and walk in solidarity with those harmed by all forms of abuse" O'Malley wrote, and "to bear this in mind when choosing images to accompany the publication of messages, articles and reflections through the various communication channels available to us."

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

Crux Now

CathNews New Zealand

There are cultural differences in the way abuse is handled within the Catholic Church, according to child protection expert Hans Zollner.

Speaking to feinschwarz.net, Fr Hans Zollner emphasised that in many countries, especially those with younger populations, "sexualised violence is still not a topic that really affects the public".

Hans Zollner SJ is a German Jesuit priest, theologian and psychologist. He is also a Professor at the Gregorian University; Director of its Institute of Anthropology, Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care; and one of the world's leading experts on safeguarding and the prevention of sexual abuse.

"In the vast majority of the world's most populous countries, it is challenging to even talk about sexuality itself in families or schools, in religions or in the media" he said.

Sexual violence is an unspeakable taboo for the majority of these societies - "even where reality speaks different volumes if you look closely".

Church leaders avoiding interactions

Zollner criticised church leaders for avoiding interactions with survivors in countries like Germany where the issue is more openly discussed.

Encounters with those affected are "so disturbing and unpleasant for many church leaders and members that they avoid them. Sufferers usually do not feel welcome, do not want to risk being recognised, are under pressure from church leaders, but also in the family".

According to Zollner, a big problem is that those responsible are not implementing standards and laws on dealing with and preventing abuse in the church.

"It's probably also because people are still reacting to individual cases, and no systemic consequences are being drawn."

Fr Hans Zollner stressed that merely expressing regret without taking systemic action undermines trust.

"Trust arises when you see that someone does what he or she says. Where the opposite happens not just once but feels like it happens all the time and everywhere ... the foundation of credibility is destroyed, namely not in the sense of a personal evaluation."

Sources

Katholisch

CathNews New Zealand

During a meeting with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Pope addressed the need for continued efforts in aiding victims.

The meeting came as recent events outside the Vatican indicated that the scandal that has rocked the church for decades was not going away anytime soon.

Swiss abuse cases surge

In Switzerland, church officials reported a significant increase in victims coming forward following the publication of a damning report. The report included over 1,000 cases of abuse since the mid-20th century. This is despite the country's relatively small Catholic population.

The diocese in northwestern Basel revealed a surge in suspected abuse cases. More than half the cases emerged in the last six months alone. Additionally, at least 70 cases were reported across four other dioceses in Switzerland since the report's release.

Italian priest guilty

In Italy, a criminal court in Sicily delivered a significant verdict against a priest previously exonerated by the Vatican.

The court sentenced the Rev Giuseppe Rugolo to four and a half years in prison for charges related to attempted sexual violence against minors. The diocese, Piazza Armerina in Sicily, was also held responsible for civil damages and legal fees.

The case drew attention as Bishop Rosario Gisana was heard admitting to covering up for the priest on intercepted wiretaps. Despite attempts to distance the diocese from liability, the court found them responsible for the priest's actions.

The Vatican's handling of the case also came under scrutiny. It shelved the case on technical grounds as Rugolo was a seminarian at the time of the sex abuse. The decision sparked outrage, especially considering one of Rugolo's victims had directly appealed to Pope Francis for intervention.

Listen to victims

Considering these developments, Pope Francis reiterated the importance of listening to victims in the church's efforts to address sex abuse.

On Thursday, Francis told his child protection advisers that listening to victims was crucial to helping them heal.

"In our ecclesial ministry of protecting minors, closeness to victims of abuse is no abstract concept but a very concrete reality comprised of listening, intervening, preventing and assisting" he said in remarks read by an aide as Francis continues to recover from the flu.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is expected in the near future to release the church's first-ever audit of safeguarding procedures and policies.

Sources

AP News

Swiss Info

CathNews New Zealand

"More broadly, the norms adopted by Rome indicate the right direction, but we currently have no mechanism to monitor their implementation."

Zollner, director of the Institute of Anthropology at Rome's Gregorian University, believes the summit Pope Francis called in 2019 to deal with abuse was a major step in the right direction.

The problem is that the rules and procedures the Church adopted after the summit aren't being applied sufficiently or evenly at the local level, he says.

At the universal level, several norms have been established. They apply to the whole church Zollner says.

One is the Vox estis lux mundi (you are the light of the world) motu proprio by Pope Francis.

Promulgated in May 2019, it established new procedural norms that have since been consolidated to combat sexual abuse and ensure that bishops and religious superiors are held accountable for their actions.

It also expects all clerics, and men and women religious, to report to their superiors any sexual and spiritual abuse they become aware of.

Zollner notes the law is not perfect in any institution, and improvements to the current regulations could be made - to canon law, for instance.

He says canonical processes must become more transparent, and procedures and systems must be applied appropriately everywhere.

"If we want new legislation to have a lasting and profound effect, it must be accompanied by a change in attitude" he says.

Transparency needed

Like Zollner, a woman who says she suffered spiritual and sexual abuse by a priest wants the new anti-abuse protocols to be properly implemented and monitored.

Gloria Branciani is demanding transparency from the Vatican and a full accounting of the hierarchs who for 30 years covered for her much-exalted abuser.

Branciani, who was a consecrated member of the Loyola Community, has detailed the alleged abuses of the celebrated Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik.

He had a fondness for three-way sex "in the image of the Trinity" Branciani says.

If this is found to be the case, it could constitute a grave perversion of Catholic doctrine known as false mysticism.

Another former Loyola Community member, Mirjam Kovac, spoke of the "spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience" Rupnik forced upon her.

The two former nuns said they hope now to obtain truth and justice, without any "personal revenge".

Vatican response

The Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has contacted several institutions to obtain documentation related to Rupnik.

Last October, Pope Francis entrusted the DDF with the task of examining the case after deciding to "waive the statute of limitations to allow the proceedings to take place".

His decision followed PCPM reports last September detailing "serious problems" in the handling of the Rupnik case and "the lack of closeness to the victims".

"After expanding the search ... it will now be necessary to study the acquired documentation in order to identify which procedures can and should be implemented" the Vatican Press Office says.

• La Croix
• AP News
• Vatican News

The Commission is condemning Church leadership for its glaring failures to prevent abuse.

Established by Pope Francis in 2014, the commission has pledged to push church authorities for more decisive measures.

The statement made public on 27 September underscores the commission's escalating concern over the "anguish and pain of a terrible betrayal" felt by victims of abuse.

It indicts not only the abusers but also a Church that has been "unable or even unwilling" to confront the severity of its own actions.

"Each day reveals fresh cases of abuse, cover-ups and poor handling by Church authorities worldwide," the commission said, adding that they are profoundly disturbed by the conduct of individuals holding responsible roles within the Church.

The comments come just a few days before Pope Francis' Synod on Synodality begins in Rome.

The Commission is calling for action and making an urgent plea for the upcoming Synod on Synodality to dedicate substantial time to discussing sexual abuse within the Church.

"We insist that the issue of sexual abuse be at the forefront of your discussions on teaching, ministry, formation and governance," the commission declared in its "Call to Action."

The commission has laid out three critical priorities for the Church:

• Strengthened solidarity with victims and survivors
• Amplified commitment and resources for safeguarding initiatives
• Making safeguarding a pivotal issue in synod discussions

"The sexual abuse crisis cuts to the very core of the synod's agenda," the commission stressed.

"It infiltrates discussions on leadership models, ministerial roles and professional standards of behaviour."

The commission has a list of goals, including an outline of several pressing objectives for the Church, by:

• Being a place of welcome, empathy and reconciliation for those impacted by abuse and a strong advocate "against the endemic complacency of those in the church and society that silence these testimonies, minimize their significance and stifle hope for renewal"
• Taking "full account and full responsibility for the wrongs done to so many in its care"
• Protecting all children with "appropriate safety policies and procedures, ones that are known and verified"
• Having well-run, "transparent and accessible systems of redress for wrongdoing by the church's ministers"
• Implementing and taking responsibility for "robust safeguarding" in dioceses, parishes, schools, hospitals, retreat centres, houses of formation and everywhere the church is present and active.

The commission insisted that these goals should be a continuous focus for the Synod on Synodality and not just a topic for brief consideration.

"We urge synod attendees to work towards these goals throughout the entire synod process" the statement concluded.

The commission also said that "recent publicly reported cases point to tragically harmful deficiencies in the norms intended to punish abusers and hold accountable those whose duty is to address wrongdoing.

"We are long overdue in fixing the flaws in procedures that leave victims wounded and in the dark both during and after cases have been decided" it said, adding that the commission will continue to study what is not working and to press for necessary changes.

Sources

• Crux
• NCR

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Aimed at creating updated diocesan guidelines, the move opens up the consultation process, historically limited to bishops and church leaders, to a broader base of stakeholders.

To collect the feedback, the commission has established an online survey.

According to CNA, anyone can participate in the survey, which is available in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

New Zealanders' feedback will be combined with feedback from around the world and be instrumental in developing an updated Universal Guidelines Framework (UGF), as announced by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors last week.

Globally effective and meaningful safeguarding principles

According to its website, the commission wants to ensure the guidelines are globally effective and meaningful.

While acknowledging that "each country and context have their own cultural, linguistic and other individual characteristics," the commission would like these guidelines to be applied everywhere.

Commission member Teresa Devlin told Vatican News that the Global South, particularly Asia, is part of the world most behind in developing its own guidelines and abuse reporting and response structures.

But, she added, "It is up and down across the world."

"Some places are very well developed. Some places have not yet started to address the whole idea of abuse within the Church."

Moving forward

The current draft guidelines have been circulated to bishops' conferences for feedback as part of the review.

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference spokesperson, Mr David McLoughlin, confirmed the Conference received the document on Wednesday.

McLoughlin told CathNews that the relevant people are studying it, and the "document will help positively to strengthen further our comprehensive local safeguarding policies and practices."

The commission plans for the new UGF to be finalised by the end of 2023 and distributed globally.

After finalisation, Catholic dioceses will be asked to revise their safeguarding guidelines in line with local cultural norms.

In 2024, the commission plans to release its first report on the implementation progress of the safeguarding guidelines in various countries and, over time, information regarding the guideline's implementation will be added to when bishops' conferences visit Rome during their five-yearly obligatory visit.

By extending the consultation process to all, the commission wants to underline its commitment to an inclusive approach to child protection, reflecting the need for local context understanding and global collaboration.

Sources

• CNA
• Vatican News
• Crux

While the Church has been praised for its efforts in establishing norms to protect individuals from abuse, "we don't have a culture of accountability when it comes to the implementation of those norms," said Jesuit Fr Hans Zollner (pictured), a leading expert in the field.

Certain norms have even been put in place to hold bishops accountable for mishandling abuse allegations. However, the review process often results in varied outcomes. Some bishops are asked to resign, while others face no consequences at all, said Zollner.

"How seriously does the legislator take his own law?" asked Fr Zollner, questioning the seriousness with which Pope Francis, the legislator behind these norms, regards his own laws.

Fr Zollner, the director of the Institute of Anthropology at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, made the remarks during the 2023 International Safeguarding Conference held at the Gregorian University.

More than 200 bishops, safeguarding officers, and specialists from 50 nations gathered to discuss "sustaining organisational accountability" at the conference.

Beatrice Mumbi, safeguarding coordinator for the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar, also addressed the issue of accountability. She expressed the difficulty of ensuring compliance and accountability among the men she works with due to the persistence of patriarchy in her context.

Moreover, Mumbi highlighted the prevalent "culture of silence" surrounding sexual abuse in many African cultures, where discussing such matters is seen as taboo to avoid tarnishing the reputation of leaders.

However, Mumbi noted a gradual change taking place, albeit at a slow pace. Efforts are underway to address accountability, but it continues to pose an ongoing challenge.

Safeguarding a universal problem

Archbishop Paul-André Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, and Archbishop Simon Poh of Kuching, Malaysia, discussed the challenges faced by church authorities regarding accountability during the conference.

Archbishop Poh revealed that safeguarding programmes in Asia are still in their early stages and emphasised it is a universal problem.

"Maybe seven, eight years ago, the thinking was that this is a Western problem. That was the mentality," the archbishop said. But now people realise "it is not a Western problem; it is a human problem."

Archbishop Durocher highlighted the progress made in Canada over the past three decades. Bishops have shifted their focus from establishing structures to investigate allegations to prioritising the needs of victims and listening to their experiences with compassion and understanding.

"The sexual abuse crisis has deeply hurt that bond of trust between bishops and priests, between laity and clergy, between believers and non-believers," the archbishop said. "It will take a long time to rebuild that trust, probably a few generations. And it will happen only if we continually to make it a priority - if I, as a bishop, make it my priority."

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

CathNews New Zealand

The commission held its plenary assembly in Rome from May 3-6, during which they discussed various topics and made several important decisions.

According to the commission's May 8 press release, changes include a proposal updating the Church's guidelines for addressing clergy sexual abuse, a forthcoming "audit tool" to "evaluate the adequacy of local Churches' safeguarding guidelines.

"At times, this new direction has been both steep and fast for all of us, reflecting the urgency of the challenges. This accelerated pace over the last six months has caused growing pains as we have attempted to respond to both short- and longer-term needs," Cardinal O'Malley said in the press release.

"In our plenary, we developed key adjustments to our working methodology so as to clarify our different roles and to create a sense of common ownership of our mandate and of our collective responsibility for its implementation," Cardinal O'Malley said.

To ensure greater access to training and assistance for victims and their families in poorer parts of the world, the commission established a fund made up of contributions from bishops' conferences.

Furthermore, the commission approved a five-year strategic plan identifying objectives, goals, and performance indicators to measure progress and provide accountability to stakeholders.

The commission also discussed new tasks, including how to respond to Pope Francis's request to combat online child abuse and commission an in-depth study on vulnerability in its various forms. The commission agreed to equip church entities with robust measures to combat this emerging area of abuse.

Changes made to create sense of collective responsibility

During the plenary assembly, the commission made key adjustments to its working methodology to clarify different roles and create a sense of common ownership of its mandate and collective responsibility for its implementation.

The statement alluded to criticism made by Jesuit Fr Hans Zollner, a leading expert on abuse, who recently resigned from the commission due to concerns over how the advisory body had been working over the past years.

O'Malley expressed gratitude to Pope Francis and emphasised that the commission recognised the need for a visible and physical centre dedicated to the fight against sexual abuse in the church and a welcome centre for those impacted by abuse.

The new framework will be submitted to church leaders, victims' groups and other key stakeholders for a period of public comment before final approval later this year.

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

The Tablet

National Catholic Register

CathNews New Zealand

"The sexual abuse of minors by clergy and its poor handling by Church leaders has been one of the greatest challenges for the Church in our time.

"Now is the time to repair the damage done to previous generations and to those who continue to suffer."

It also undermines the Church's ability "to fully embrace and bear witness to God's liberating presence."

This "has sullied our witness to God's love," he said.

The new law

To address the Church's failure to act properly, Francis confirmed the decree "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" is now a universal law of the Catholic Church.

Among other things, it requires every diocese to "set aside places for receiving accusations and caring for those who report that they have been harmed.

"No one today can honestly claim to be unaffected by the reality of sexual abuse in the church," Francis told the Commission.

Three reparation principles

Francis asked the Commission to bear in mind three principles and to "consider them as part of a spirituality of reparation."

First: Keep in mind God's creative power

"Where harm was done ... we are called to keep in mind God's creative power to make hope emerge from despair and life from death. The terrible sense of loss ... as a result of abuse can sometimes seem a burden too heavy to bear.

"Church leaders who share a sense of shame for their failure to act, have suffered a loss of credibility, and our very ability to preach the Gospel has been damaged.

"Persevere and keep moving forward!"

Second: Heal the broken

"Our lives are not meant to remain divided. What is broken must not stay broken."

Abuse survivors have told him being "heard and believed" helped restore their sense of hope.

He asked the Commission to "help put pieces back together, in the hope that what is broken can be repaired."

Third: Mirror God

Francis encouraged the Commission "to cultivate an approach that mirrors the respect and kindness of God himself.

"Be gentle in your actions, bearing one another's burdens (cf. Gal 6:1-2), without complaining, but considering that this moment of reparation for the Church will give way to a further moment in the history of salvation."

Respect for everyone's dignity, for right conduct and a sound way of life must become a universal rule, independent of people's culture, economic and social condition, Francis said.

"All the Church's ministers must respect this rule in the way they serve the faithful, and they in turn must be treated with respect and dignity by those who lead the community.

"A culture of safeguarding will take root only if there is a pastoral conversion in this regard among the Church's leaders."

Addressing inequality

Francis encouraged the Commission's "plans for addressing inequalities within the Church through training and assistance to victims in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

"In these, the Church must seek to be a model of acceptance and good practice," he said.

Source

• America Magazine

On 21 April the heads of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Dicastery for Evangelisation signed a memorandum of understanding to improve assistance to victims of abuse, bishops and local churches both in mission countries and emerging communities.

New Zealand's primary relationship with the Vatican is through the Dicastery for Evangelisation.

Virginia Noonan, National Director of NOPS, told CathNews "The National Office for Professional Standards looks forward to receiving more details about the memorandum of understanding."

It is proposed that the enhanced collaboration will come with a number of benefits: sharing resources, information and formation and "promoting concrete structural change to build a culture of safeguarding."

For now, however, it remains uncertain what additional benefits the new relationship will bring survivors, NOPS and the NZ Church.

Nor is it clear what New Zealand may be able to share.

Commission president US Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston who spent many years as "a missionary bishop" when he ministered in the US Virgin Islands, says he understands what it is like to run a diocese with very limited resources.

He says the commission hopes to work with the dioceses that are under the dicastery's purview.

The commission's aim is to "help them to be able to develop programmes, to be able to receive victims" in ways that also offer needed pastoral outreach and care, not just the correct "juridical practices," he says.

It also aims to help the dioceses in safeguarding and prevention work so "our churches, schools and communities will be safe places for children and young people."

The controversial sex abuse commission has suffered several resignations, with former members being unhappy with the Commission's processes.

The latest resignation is respected expert Fr Hans Zollner.

Zollner resigned citing disagreements over how the body is being operated.

"I have noticed issues that need to be urgently addressed and that have made it impossible for me to continue further," he said in a candid message published on social media.

In his critique of the Commission, Zollner said he had "grown increasingly concerned" with the Vatican's safeguarding commission and its lack of "responsibility, compliance, accountability and transparency."

"I am convinced that these are principles that any Church institution, let alone the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is bound to uphold," he said.

Cardinal Luis Tagle, Prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelisation, describes the new collaboration as "a welcome development."

Among its other functions, the Dicastery for Evangelisation is responsible for appointing New Zealand bishops.

New Zealand's last member on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was former NOPS head, Mr Bill Killgallon.

Killgallon's involvement ended in 2016.

Source

• NCR Online
• Supplied
• NCR Online

As the commission moved into a palace in Rome's historic centre, Zollner expressed his hope that the commission's new home will push the commission to take seriously the principles of transparency, compliance and responsibility.

"It was not easy for me at all to leave the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and to publicly address the existing problems," he said.

"Many times, I asked myself the following questions: Does this gesture correspond to the team spirit and the discretion necessary for any working group? Will I hurt the Holy Father with my decision?"

Zollner said he experienced "weeks and months of internal tension to find the right answer to these questions" before finally deciding.

After nearly ten years of serving on the pope's advisory body, Zollner said, "it is a continuous impression on the part of victims that they are not listened to."

Without naming individuals, he said there are people in the church who "for personal or emotional reasons, create obstacles" in the fight against abuse.

Zollner cited "structural and practical issues" with the commission when he resigned.

The commission, established by Pope Francis, is currently composed of about 20 members.

Its primary objective is to advise the Pope on the best approaches for safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults, and promoting local accountability within specific churches.

Zollner is not the first member of the papal commission to resign.

In 2017, two prominent members who were abuse survivors left the commission.

The first was Marie Collins, who, in an exclusive article for National Catholic Reporter, cited "resistance," "reluctance" and a "lack of cooperation" from the then-doctrinal congregation.

Then Peter Saunders also resigned.

Saunders said he was frustrated with the pace of change and "disappointed" the commission was not doing what he thought it was intended to achieve.

Zollner clarified that his resignation was not intended to personally attack anyone or impede the work of the commission, which he called "a success in itself and a great idea by Pope Francis" and one that has an "intrinsic value."

"I've seen with my own eyes how Pope Francis takes his time and listens to victims, and he is an example of the attitude that the church must have," including its bishops, clergy and laypeople who "don't always want to listen."

Yet he acknowledged that "many victims no longer expect anything" from the church. Still, others hope to "just once meet the human face of the church."

"For me, the greatest pain is that they don't find it," he said. "If the church doesn't serve the last, the forgotten, the wounded, then it makes no sense."

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

Crux Now

CathNews New Zealand

Zollner is one of the most respected experts in the Vatican's fight against clergy sex abuse.

He cited disagreements over the way the body is being operated.

"I have noticed issues that need to be urgently addressed and that have made it impossible for me to continue further," he said in a candid message published on social media.

He said structural and practical issues within the body that led him to disassociate with it.

However, Cardinal Sean O'Malley on Thursday said he strongly disagrees with the critique by Zollner.

In a statement on March 30, O'Malley, who heads the Commission, said: "I am surprised, disappointed and strongly disagree with [Zollner's] publicly-issued assertions challenging the Commission's effectiveness."

"We do both share the view that the protection of children and vulnerable persons remains at the heart of the Church's mission and the Commission will continue to manifest that conviction," he said.

"The Commission has a plenary meeting scheduled in the next few weeks during which we can address these and other matters more fully as a group."

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was instituted in 2014 and 56-year-old Zollner was a founding member.

It serves as an advisory body to the pope, providing recommendations on how the Church can best protect minors and vulnerable adults.

Zollner had "grown increasingly concerned"

In his critique of the Commission, Zollner said he had "grown increasingly concerned" with the Vatican's safeguarding commission and its lack of "responsibility, compliance, accountability and transparency."

"I am convinced that these are principles that any Church institution, let alone the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is bound to uphold," he said.

According to Dr Christopher Longhurst, national leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Aotearoa New Zealand, these are the same institutional failures that survivors and advocates have experienced in the Catholic Church in New Zealand around safeguarding.

Longhurst said the fact that Zollner, who has been a member of that Commission since its creation, is only now recognising those failures is an example of how slow Church people are to learn or accept this truth.

Sources

La Croix International

Catholic News Agency

Community Scoop

He admitted on Friday that the Church was failing to tackle the scourge of clerical sexual abuse in the southern hemisphere.

There was a "disparity in training and prevention of child sexual abuse between the northern and southern hemispheres", warned a priest from the North, Andrew Small (pictured) who is the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The so-called "mission church" in developing countries "doesn't have the people or the resources that you have in Europe and North America," Small said, adding, "that inequality shouldn't be a surprise to anyone."

The Vatican considers New Zealand a mission church. It is in the Global South region.

"The disparity in the formation and prevention of the sexual abuse of minors between the northern and southern hemispheres recalls the urgency of the collaboration of the church in the wealthiest countries to remedy the enormous inequality in safeguarding services between the north and south of the world," he said.

"In our engagement with victim survivors, the acknowledgement of the wrong that was done to them is primary, being listened to, being believed," said Fr Small.

"There's nothing that takes the place of being believed and heard."

However, the UK priest told the Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano there is an "urgency... to remedy the huge inequality in safeguarding services between the global north and south".

Small was appointed by Pope Francis in 2021 to the advisory commission which in an attempt to stop paedophile clerics has doubled in size from 10 to 20 experts.

"Although almost all of the world's 114 bishops' conferences have drafted and presented a set of guidelines, there remains the important question of their effectiveness and verification, both of which are essential when dealing with child protection," he said.

The commission is tasked with drawing up yearly reports to chart the progress on the safeguarding of minors across the global Church.

Small said the commission will look at how much care is taken of survivors of clerical abuse and monitor whether countries and dioceses have implemented effective safeguarding guidelines.

He says the report will provide an urgent degree of transparency and accountability about child protection and the management of abuse cases.

The Vatican still needs to find a way to be more open while respecting local laws that protect the reputation of someone who is not guilty of a civil crime but may have violated church law, said Small.

If the church cannot figure that out, he said, not only will it be bad for the institutional church, "but it will be continually painful for the victims, who are the source and summit of the commission's focus."

Small says the report will have four sections:

• a summary of bishop's reports regarding their guidelines and the implementation of Vos Estis, given to the commission during the ad limina visit
• commission team members examining the church in geographical areas
• an examination of how Roman Curia departments are including safeguarding in their activities
• broader efforts to protect children in the world e.g. child soldiers, children in orphanages and foster care, and protecting migrant and refugee children.

Small says the commission should have something to the Pope in 2023, but does not expect to have enough actionable data until its first annual report in 2024.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a respected US-based organisation that tracks abuse, complained the Vatican commission was moving too slowly.

She calls is a "major deficiency".

"That's a long time for the public to wait before knowing where children are at risk of sexual abuse," she said about the 2024 publication date, in a statement to Reuters.

The commission got off to a rocky start with several people resigning because they thought it lacked sufficient ‘clout'.

In March, Francis appears to have rectified the perceptions when a new Holy See constitution placed it inside the Vatican's doctrinal department, which rules on abuse cases.

The commission is led by Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Small. In addition, the commission comprises 20 members, 10 men and 10 women.
Sources

• AFP
• Crux
• CNS
• Reuters

Each country will contribute to the audit evaluating how national Catholic Churches are implementing such measures.

"Without more transparency the faithful will continue to lose trust," he says.

"Abuse in any form is unacceptable.

"This [annual] report will ... provide a clear audit of our progress in this effort.

"Without that progress, the faithful will continue to lose trust in their pastors, and preaching and witnessing to the Gospel will become increasingly difficult," he says.

The pope made the request for the audit at a meeting with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was established in 2014 to promote best practices and a culture of safeguarding worldwide.

Although to date the Commission has had a few difficulties, the Vatican's newly updated constitution placed it in the doctrinal department which rules on abuse cases.

The worldwide sexual abuse crisis has seen the Church suffer massive damage to its credibility and billions of dollars in settlements, with some dioceses declaring bankruptcy.

The Commission's role

The Commission acts in an advisory capacity. It is made up mostly of lay people, including clergy sexual abuse survivors such as Juan Carlos Cruz of Chile, one of the most vocal defenders of abuse victims.

Father Andrew Small, its secretary, says the annual audit would detail the strength of guidelines in individual countries, dioceses, national bishops conferences and regional bishops conferences.

The Commission's job is to "supervise, be vigilant, oversee, encourage and report back," he says.

Francis has promised the Commission autonomy with a direct reporting line to him.

Part of the mandate is to determine if dioceses are conforming to a 2019 papal directive ordering "public, stable and easily accessible systems for submission" of reports of sexual abuse.

Some countries, such as the United States, established procedures sometimes known as "listening centres", even before the 2019 directive.

Others, particularly in the developing world, have been slow to conform.

"Sexual abuse in the Church has been going on for far too long and we still have a long way to go," Cruz says.

"The Commission will help and also oversee that bishops conferences around the world implement these offices where survivors can go to receive attention, receive the care that they need and receive some kind of explanation where their cases are.

"Not knowing the status of a complaint can be incredibly re-traumatising and re-victimising for survivors."

Source

• Reuters
• Image: America Magazine

In an audience at the Vatican on April 29, the pope called on the commission to produce the annual audit to promote "transparency and accountability."

"This might be difficult at the beginning, but I ask you to begin where necessary, in order to furnish a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that the competent authorities can act," he said.

"This report will be a factor of transparency and accountability and - I hope - will provide a clear audit of our progress in this effort. Without that progress, the faithful will continue to lose trust in their pastors, and preaching and witnessing to the Gospel will become increasingly difficult."

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The letter, written in Italian, was sent to Pope Francis who requested it be made public with the author's identity withheld.

"Please, do not sweep things under the carpet because then they start to stink, putrefy, and the rug itself will rot away. Let us realize that if we hide these facts, when we keep our mouths shut, we hide the filth, and we thus become a collaborator," said the adult survivor in the letter.

"To live in the truth is to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who never closed his eyes to sin or the sinner, but who "lived the truth with love … (who) indicated the sin and the sinner with bitter love," the letter said.

US Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said, "During this time of renewal and pastoral conversion in which the church is facing the scandal and wounds of sexual abuse inflicted everywhere upon so many children of God, our Holy Father received from a survivor a courageous testimony offered to all seminarians."

By sharing this testimony publicly, "Pope Francis wants to welcome the voices of all wounded people and to show all priests who proclaim the Gospel the path that leads to authentic service of God to the benefit of all vulnerable people," the cardinal wrote in an introduction to the letter posted on the commission's website.

In the letter, the woman explained how she was harmed for years as a girl by a priest, leaving her with many serious mental health issues. This includes dissociative identity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, insomnia, nightmares and a pervasive sense of fear — of others, of making mistakes, of being touched.

"I am afraid of priests, of being near them," she wrote. She can no longer go to Mass because this "sacred space" that used to be her second home now only triggers pain and fear.

She said she is trying to "survive, to feel joy, but in reality, it is an incredibly difficult battle."

"I am here also in the name of other victims ... of children who have been deeply harmed, whose childhood, purity and respect have been stolen ... who were betrayed and whose boundless trust was taken advantage of ... of children whose hearts beat, who breathe, who live ... but they have been killed once, twice, many times. ... Their souls have been turned into tiny bloody pieces," she wrote.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• America Magazine
• Vatican News

Marie Collins pointed out that the new provisions do not mandate that a priest found guilty of abuse be removed from any office he may hold, or from the priesthood.

Instead, the provisions say that a priest found guilty of abuse can be deprived of office or dismissed from the clerical state "where the case calls for it."

Collins, an Irish abuse survivor who resigned in frustration from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2017, said, "They had the opportunity to nail it down in black and white."

"They haven't done that," she told the webinar, hosted by the Cleveland-based reform group FutureChurch on June 15.

"As we know, a bishop can think something is very serious where another bishop might think this is not very serious," she said. "[This] is leaving the decision down to personal judgment."

Breda O'Brien, in her column in the Irish Times, said "there are lots of reasons why Catholics are leaving the church. But the failure by the Catholic Church worldwide to act decisively, courageously and truthfully in relation to sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults is an important and tragic factor."

Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and one of the most popular speakers at the recent World Meeting of Families said recently, "Maybe 50 years ago, people didn't quite understand but if we don't understand it now, we're blind, deaf and stupid. Lives were shattered, broken, destroyed by these acts, so I think it is important for us to name them as crimes of sexual assault and sexual violence."

Collins expressed concern with the way the new provisions describe a priest who abuses a minor or a vulnerable adult as committing "an offence against the Sixth Commandment" with that person.

The Sixth Commandment is the prohibition against committing adultery.

"As a survivor, I find that highly derogatory," Collins said of the provisions' language. "As if somehow, the child was colluding with the priest to break the Sixth Commandment."

"Victims, children, who have been sexually assaulted or abused or raped do not see how that comes within the sin of breaking the Sixth Commandment," she said.

During a June 1 press conference presenting the new provisions, the secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts had defended the use of the sixth commandment language.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta said using that language makes the issue "clear" to Catholics living across various cultures on different continents.

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

Irish Times

Juan Carlos Cruz, an international advocate for abuse victims, has been appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The 59-year-old Cruz was abused as a teenager in his native Chile by a notorious paedophile, Father Fernando Karadima.

Karadima was convicted in 2011 by a Vatican court of committing pedophile acts in the 1980s and 1990s. He was also dismissed from the clerical state and sentenced to lead a life of penance.

During the pope's trip to Chile in 2018, Cruz criticised Francis for defending a bishop whom Cruz and other victims accused of having witnessed Karadima abuse them and of covering up for him.

Days after returning to Rome, Francis, citing new information, ordered an investigation of the Church in Chile. It produced a 2,300-page report accusing Chile's bishops of "grave negligence" in investigating the allegations. The report also said evidence of sex crimes had been destroyed.

Francis later that year received Cruz and other victims of Karadima in the Vatican and demanded the resignation of all of Chile's bishops.

"When the pope asked me for forgiveness, I have never seen someone so contrite. I felt he was in pain," Cruz said of his private meeting with Francis.

By this time, the pope was aware Cruz was openly gay and living with his partner in the United States.

"God loves you just as you are," Francis told him.

Cruz has spent years fighting clergy sex abuse and the Church's code of silence. He expressed "his gratitude" to the pope for the new appointment.

"I am very grateful to Pope Francis for trusting me with this appointment. This renews my commitment to continue working to end the scourge of abuse and for so many survivors who still do not have justice," Cruz said on Twitter.

Sources

La Croix International

Reuters

Al Jazeera