Pope renews commission on sexual abuse, Vatican promises victims more say

By Philip Pullella

 

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican February 4, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi

 

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis renewed a commission on clergy sexual abuse on Saturday, confirming a U.S. cardinal as its head, as the Vatican promised to give victims a greater say in its work.

 

The renewal of the commission and the confirmation of Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston as its head comes as the pope is dealing with an abuse scandal in Chile that has created one of the greatest image crises of his papacy, which marks its fifth anniversary next month.[L8N1Q56UY].

 

The first, three-year mandate of the commission ended in December and its future had been uncertain.

 

Its first term was marred by two high-profile resignations, that of Marie Collins of Ireland and Peter Saunders of Britain. Both were victims of clergy sexual abuse when they were young and both stepped down in what they said was frustration over lack of change and insufficient cooperation by top Vatican officials.

 

A Vatican statement said victims of sexual abuse were among the members but that it was up to them to decide to disclose this outside the 16-member international commission, made up of nine new members and seven returning ones.

 

It said plans were at an advanced stage to create a group made up of victims of sexual abuse known as the International Survivor Advisory Panel (ISAP) to offer consultation on "abuse prevention from the survivor's perspective".

 

PROTECT MINORS

 

The mandate of the commission, which includes lay academics and psychologists, priests and nuns, is to promote best practice initiatives and educational programmes to protect minors and vulnerable adults in local Catholic institutions around the world.

 

Its experts come from the United States, Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, India, Italy, Tonga, Germany, Brazil, Poland, South Africa, the Philippines, and Zambia. Ten are non-clerics and eight are women, including three nuns.

 

Francis has been under fire for remarks he made last month in Chile.

 

He initially said accusations against a Chilean bishop were "slander" and told reporters the Vatican had received no concrete evidence against him.

 

But days later, he appointed the Church's most experienced sexual abuse investigator to look into the accusations that Bishop Juan Barros had covered up crimes against minors.

 

The investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, starts his work in New York on Saturday when he is due to meet Juan Carlos Cruz, who says he was sexually abused when he was a teenager in Chile by a priest called Fernando Karadima.

 

Karadima was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing teenage boys over many years. Karadima denies the allegations and Barros denied accusations that he witnessed Karadima carrying out the abuse.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-18

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Vatican promises victims more say

and to our dear victims in the Lord, we promise you that you can say more now... about 10% more.

So the damage limitation exercise rolls on.

Any other organization similarly up to the neck in such depravity would have been disbanded and criminalized years ago

I don't see how any member of the Catholic church cannot, or even should not,  be viewed as a fervent  supporter of child sexual abuse

 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Pope renews commission on sexual abuse

 

How much is he asking from every priest? Is it 2%, 5%, 10%, how much?

Why should  it  be  that  the  victims  are  not in front  of an  open  court  and able  to  express  all?

It  disgusts  me  that a  business  organization  should  be  permitted  intervention  in  a  justice  system.