Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie's office released a graphic comparing a "big problem"' with Islamic radicalisation to child molestation in the Australian Catholic Church.

The graphic asks if a royal commission is uncovering paedophilia in the Church, why couldn't one be held to "discover the truth" about "hate preachers, radicalisation and terrorism".

"The Australian Catholic Church for years has had a big problem with child molesters . . . and now we have a royal commission to discover the truth", the text above a graphic of the cross reads.

"Australian Islam for years has had a big problem with hate preachers, radicalisation and terrorism . . . Why can't we discover the truth with a royal commission?" the other half of the graphic reads.

The writing is placed above a crescent moon and star - a symbol associated with the Muslim faith.

It comes after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson called for a similar commission into whether Islam is a religion or an ideology.

Her policies include a ban on building new mosques until the commission is held, and installing CCTV cameras in all existing mosques.

Meanwhile, one of Pope Francis's closest advisors has urged Catholics to strengthen dialogue with Muslims.

Speaking in Ireland, US Cardinal Sean O'Malley warned against scape-goating Muslims following the atrocity in Nice and other terrorist attacks on the west.

The cardinal recalled that the Irish were once blamed for America's ills.

"I think immigration is such an important issue, requires a lot of reflection," he said.

"It requires people with wisdom to come together and talk about what is best for the common good."

Cardinal O'Malley admitted he is worried by Donald Trump's rhetoric on the issue.

Mr Trump has suggested Muslims should be barred from entering the US.

Sources

• Daily Mail Australia
• RTE
• Image: AAP

British campaigner Peter Saunders said the idea of the panel was suggested by commission head Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

Mr Saunders was encouraged to resign from the commission after he questioned Pope Francis' commitment to reform.

But Mr Saunders said he is only on a "leave of absence".

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According to an Associated Press report, Peter Saunders said the members of the 17-person Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors asked him to step aside, with one abstention.

This was after the commission reportedly concluded it could no longer trust him to work within the scope of the commission's mandate.

Mr Saunders wanted the commission to intervene immediately in individual cases, rather than just craft long-term policies to fight abuse.

He has also been highly critical of the Vatican's slow progress in taking measures to protect children and punish bishops who covered up for abusers.

On Saturday, Mr Saunders told reporters he was "blindsided" by the Vatican's announcement of his "leave of absence" and said only the Pope could make him leave the commission.

The Vatican had stated that Mr Saunders would take time "to consider how he might best support the commission's work".

Commission head Cardinal Sean O'Malley said in another statement that the group had asked Mr Saunders to advise them on possibly creating a victim/survivor panel to help with their work.

Mr Saunders said the Vatican's inaction in the face of continuing cases of children being raped and molested "made me lose faith in the process and lose faith in Pope Francis".

Last week, Mr Saunders told The Times in London that that he had asked the Pope to appear at a three-day meeting of the commission in Rome to defend his record.

He told the paper: "It will be outrageous if he doesn't attend and I will say so."

Mr Saunders had been especially critical of the Pope's appointment of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros to the Diocese of Osorno.

Bishop Barros was accused of covering up an abusive priest, his mentor Fr Fernando Karadima, and even witnessing abuse.

Bishop Barros denies the allegations.

One of Karadima's victims, Juan Carlos Cruz, joined Mr Saunders on Saturday in Rome in hopes of speaking to the commission, but was refused.

Mr Cruz also hoped to deliver letters to the commission or to Francis from the clergy and people of Osorno.

Sources

• Associated Press
• The Guardian
• National Catholic Reporter
• Daily Mail
• Catholic Herald
• Los Angeles Times
• Crux
• Image: The Guardian

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, chairman of the US bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said videos showing the admissions reveal a lack of respect for human life.

The undercover videos were recorded by a pro-life non-profit group in the US, the Center for Medical Progress.

Planned Parenthood and other officials are shown talking about the recovery of unborn children's organs and financial aspects of the process.

In the first video, Dr Deborah Nucatola says: "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm going to basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact."

Cardinal O'Malley said abortion and the distribution of foetal organs and tissues "fail to respect the humanity and dignity of human life".

"Pope Francis has called abortion the product of a ‘widespread mentality of profit, the throwaway culture, which has today enslaved the hearts and minds of so many'.

"The recent news stories concerning Planned Parenthood direct our attention to two larger issues involving many institutions in our society.

"The first is abortion itself: a direct attack on human life in its most vulnerable condition. The second is the now standard practice of obtaining foetal organs and tissues through abortion.

"Both actions fail to respect the humanity and dignity of human life. This fact should be the centre of attention in the present public controversy," he said.

In his statement the cardinal cited Project Rachel, which helps women who are suffering from the trauma of having had an abortion.

Planned Parenthood has denied that it is selling the foetal body parts for profit, which is illegal.

Rather, it says it is only trying to recoup its costs.

The videos have sparked calls for Planned Parenthood to lose federal funding of US$500million a year.

A White House spokesman has defended the organisation, saying the videos were edited in a fraudulent way.

A bill has been introduced to the US Senate to remove federal funding from Planned Parenthood.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• The Guardian
• Catholic Herald
• CNN
• Daily Caller
• Image: Catholic Herald

Peter Saunders, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told The Tablet he would like to see the commission have wider powers.

He would like to see the commission's remit extended so it is able to deal directly with allegations of abuse.

Mr Saunders said he would like to see the commission become "the FBI of the Church staffed by laity so that people can come to me and other members rather than referring them somewhere else".

He added that the "somewhere else" is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which, Mr Saunders maintains, is "not up to the task".

Currently, the 17-member commission, which includes safeguarding experts from across the world, is staffed by just one priest, Fr Robert Oliver.

Its next meeting is not due to take place until October.

Mr Saunders is the outgoing chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood in the United Kingdom.

He was abused by two priests when he was a child.

He said he would be willing to lead the commission office and work closely alongside fellow members.

The commission is headed by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston.

Mr Saunders also told The Tablet that he has been inundated with messages from survivors who claim they are still ignored when they make complaints to Church leaders in their countries.

The vast majority of bishops' conferences across the world have guidelines on how to respond to abuse allegations.

Last month, Cardinal O'Malley told Crux's John Allen that he hoped to have a "pretty finished product" in terms of a new accountability system on abuse to present to the Pope within two months.

The system would include a tribunal located within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Crux
• BBC
• Vatican Radio
• Image: Third Sector

Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston told a press conference in Rome that some prelates were still reluctant to deal with the problem openly.

"It would be perilous for us, as leaders of the Church, to consider that the scandal of clergy sexual abuse is for the most part a matter of history and not a pressing concern here and now," Cardinal O'Malley said.

"It's not a pleasant topic. It's easier just to ignore it and hope it will go away (but) when we are defensive and secretive, the results are disastrous," he said.

Cardinal O'Malley heads the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis sent a stern letter to bishops around the world ordering them to cooperate as a matter of priority with the commission.

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A member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Marie Collins, said accountability of bishops is her main priority in this role.

The 17 member commission met in Rome over the weekend.

Ms Collins, an abuse survivor from Ireland, hinted the commission might be suggesting to Pope Francis that there be new mechanisms for firing Catholic prelates.

Asked by the National Catholic Reporter about the fact that only the Pope can remove bishops, Ms Collins interrupted the question to say: "Currently, yes."

"All I can say is the commission is working on a means by which bishops can be made accountable," Ms Collins added.

"And if that goes forward . . . there will be an answer to this problem."

The commission's head, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, said recommendations will go to the Pope about consequences for bishops who don't follow guidelines on preventing and reporting abuse.

The cardinal said the commission has yet to recommend specifically what those repercussions might be.

But he added: "Obviously, there has to be consequences."

Cardinal O'Malley also said the commission has also been tasked with presenting methods for "measuring compliance" of bishops' conferences on the issue.

Ms Collins wants to see action in this area too.

"You can have as many guidelines as you like in place, but if the men that are supposed to be implementing don't implement them, there has to be some sanction or you're wasting your time," she said.

Ms Collins admitted to feeling frustration about how slow the commission's work has been so far.

English abuse survivor and commission member Peter Saunders said he would be leaving the commission in a year or two if it did not achieve some sort of accountability of bishops.

In 2011, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith called on bishops' conferences to develop guidelines on preventing and reporting abuse.

Cardinal O'Malley said that about four per cent, primarily those in mission areas, have yet to do so.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Irish Times
• Image: RTE

Cardinal O'Malley, in a blog post, said he would have thought that the competency of UN commission was to examine the policies and practices of their member nations, and had they focused on that task "they would have been able to make what I would consider a valuable contribution."

Rather, "they extrapolated to the life of the Church, which is not their competency, and interjected many of their own ideological preferences," he said.

"They also appear to have not taken into account the hard work that has been done in many parts of the world.

"It is very easy to get the headlines when you criticise the church, however, I do not think the commission's report has been either fair or particularly helpful."

Cardinal O'Malley said he hoped that the report would lead to "greater resolve by those in the Holy See to be more proactive on this issue and to cooperate with the new commission on child protection that the Holy Father is establishing."

Sources

• Cardinal Sean O'Malley's blog
• News Herald

St. Anthony Shrine, "The Church on Arch Street," is a centre for Roman Catholic Ministry in Boston, Massachusetts, directed by the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province.

Commenting on his meeting with the Archbishop O'Malley said, "Though I knew of him, I had never met the Archbishop before. He is a member of the same Bishops Conference as Papua New Guinea, so he knows the Capuchin bishops who are there." O'Malley is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, commonly known as the Capuchins.

Smith was in Boston as part of the Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies sponsors' programme which brings missionaries who come in from around the world to preach at Masses in parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Boston.

Cardinal O'Malley explained that the Programme has two purposes:

• The economic support for the works of evangelisation and mercy that are carried out in the name of the Catholic community in these countries of the Third World.
• An opportunity for mission animation, to help Catholics in Boston to grow in their awareness of the universality of the Church and their responsibility to be part of this mission of announcing the Gospel and caring for one another.

"I am always very edified by the generosity and the love that our people demonstrate towards the missions. Indeed, Archbishop Smith attested to the warm welcome that he received in the parishes and for the generous support that the people have given him," said O'Malley.

Source

• Facebook
• Cardinal Sean's Blog
• Image: Cardinal Sean's Blog

The cardinals, yesterday, held their last pre-conclave talks where they have been talking about the qualities needed by the next pope and vetting possible candidates for the post.

Vatican insiders seem to be favouring the 'reformers candidate', Milan Archbishop Angelo Scola as in the lead, but without the needed support of two-thirds of the 115 'cardinal electors' .

Odilo Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paolo, Brazil is also supposedly seen as the Roman Curia's pick and so is also seen as a strong possibility.

The voting process is governed by complete secrecy.

Meeting in 'general congregations' for a week now, there is a significant block of cardinals looking for a man who can reform the Roman Curia, the central government of the Catholic Church, which has been beset by the intrigue laid bare in documents leaked by Benedict's butler last year.

While some see head of the Congregation of Bishops, Canadian Marc Ouellet as the person to implement curial reform, it was the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola who was greeted by a mass of photographers and cameramen when he celebrated mass in the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles on Sunday.

However with reform on the mind of many cardinals, and the United States no longer the only global super-power, talk in Rome also surrounds the possibility of an American Pope.

In recent days, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley has emerged as a popular favorite, leading a poll of a half-dozen Vatican experts in the influential daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday, as well as a separate reader poll the paper published online Sunday.

According to Inquirer News, O'Malley's brown habit, signifying his Capuchin Franciscan order's simplicity and solidarity with the poor, has helped him stand out. So has his fluency in Spanish and connection with Hispanic communities, lending him an international appeal. And he is recognized as one of the church's most effective leaders in dealing with clergy sexual abuse.

Another leading US contender is the larger than life, great communicator, New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Dolan himself however is dismissing his chances.

Writing via his blog to people in the New York Diocese, he said he's looking forward to getting home; he's running out of clean socks.

Early on in the process he was similarly dismissive, saying people who are mentioning his name must be smoking some of that funny smelling tobacco.

Sources

• Inquirer News
• Boston Globe
• NBCNews
• Christian Science Monitor
• Image: BBC