When looking at the entire church, it should not be assumed that everyone is on the same page when it comes to abuse. 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, Read more
The pope’s safeguarding commission must not merely be engaged in “PR”, but become a refuge for those abused by clergy and silenced by the church, says top anti-abuse expert Jesuit Fr Hans Zollner (pictured). As the commission moved into a palace in Rome’s historic centre, Zollner expressed his hope that the commission’s new home will Read more
Fr Hans Zollner has resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. 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 Read more
Better guidelines are needed to protect the sacrament of reconciliation as a “channel of grace” for sexual abuse victims, says Jesuit Father Hans Zollner. “If the church did more to help confessors be empathetic listeners as well as skilled interpreters of the church’s moral teaching, it would make it clearer that the sacrament of reconciliation Read more
A leading expert in child protection says big tech companies are reluctant to use profits to prevent online abuse and the exploitation of minors. Speaking to Crux, German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner said advancing developments in technology, are “allowing new forms of abuse online to take root.” “The internet and new technologies represent fertile ground Read more
One of the Pope’s key advisors on clerical child sexual abuse has written to survivors recognising the suffering and distress they have endured. Fr Hans Zollner is president of the Centre for Child Protection at Rome’s Gregorian University and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He wrote in response after Read more
Pressure is growing for lay movement reform due to the influence some lay communities exert over their members. Lay movements and communities have given countless Catholics a chance to rediscover and deepen their faith. But a clear separation is needed between the spiritual and mission aspects of the organisations. In 1998 St. John Paul II Read more
A leading expert in the field of child protection, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, says while one goal of the Vatican’s upcoming anti-abuse summit aims to get the world’s bishops on the same page about abuse prevention, a uniform solution to the clerical abuse issue doesn’t exist. Zollner says he believes the reason for calling the Read more
The ongoing work of protecting young people from sexual abuse has received strong encouragement from Pope Francis. “This is important work; keep it up!” he said three times during a meeting with a participant in an international conference on the subject. The annual Anglophone Conference on the Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults Read more