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A paternalistic attitude within the Church that devalues laypeople and puts clergy on a pedestal is worse than clericalism says German Jesuit priest Hans Zollner. Zollner is one of the Church’s leading experts in child protection. There are two sides to this problem, Zollner says. One is with “the hierarchy not involving the gifts of Read more
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Pope Francis has made it compulsory in law within the Vatican and in Vatican diplomatic missions worldwide to report child sex abuse. Francis, who is both the Vatican head of state and the head of the Church new law, wants the new law to be a model for the church globally. The legal changes reflect Read more
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The Vatican summit on the protection of minors has ended and the Church’s future direction is set. In his final address at the Summit, Pope Francis committed the church to do everything possible to eradicate sexual abuse. He said he wants it gone – not just from the church itself but from society as a Read more
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A Brazilian archbishop has banned all priests in his archdiocese from being alone with children. Archbishop Manoel Delson signed the ban after the court ordered the archdiocese to pay almost £2.5 million in compensation over the sexual exploitation of minors. Read more Related Posts:Apuron appeals his conviction – Guam’s…Brazilian bishop, priests among others arrestedThe Catholic Read more
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As sexual assault cases against the Archdiocese of Agãna continue to increase, it appears that the Vatican has found itself in trouble with the United Nations. In 2014, the Vatican was summoned to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child committee. It was asked to take concrete steps to remedy decades of institutional Read more
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The 19th meeting of the Council of Cardinal Advisers has been held this week. Often called the C9, the Cardinals and Pope Francis have examined several dicasteries of the curia; the protection of minors; the economy, a range of texts Francis has put forward for consideration, and Holy See lay staff and clergy selection and Read more
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New Zealand appeared to have made reasonable progress in its work to address sexual abuse within the church and to stop it happening in the future says Fr Hans Zollner. However he said there are still challenges to be faced such as unifying the church’s approach and dealing with complex migration issues. Zollner, who has Read more
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When a priest accused of sexual abuse dies, care should be taken as to how his funeral is conducted, new Irish child protection guidelines say. The National Board for Safeguarding Children published updated guidelines on Wednesday. They give recommendations if an accused priest dies before an investigation has concluded. In such a case, “careful thought Read more
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An Irish church head has warned of the risk of a generation of children being deprived of normal interaction with adults because of a protection “industry”. Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Richard Clarke expressed his concerns during his church’s general synod, the Irish Times reported. While emphasising the necessity for strong child protection measures, he Read more
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The Catholic Church of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands launched its first child protection policy on February 24. The policy outlines clear steps for investigating abuse within the Church and encourages members of report abuse. Br Frank Hough, who helped formulate the new policy, said he hoped Church members would find reporting abuse less Read more
