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

However, Vatican officials needed "a safeguarding policy" in place ages ago to prevent abuse and address it when it occurs.

Collins says a policy of this sort was promised at the Vatican summit on child protection in February, but it has never materialised.

One of the original members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Collins says she is disappointed with the outcome of the summit.

"We had been told it would be about responsibility, accountability and transparency," she says.

"What we saw come out of it was a [promise of a] handbook for bishops - that has not come out yet - and a safeguarding policy for Vatican City...".

In her view, Vatican City should have had such a policy "decades ago,".

Collins, who resigned from the Vatican commission in 2017 because she was concerned that promised reforms were not being implemented and Vatican leaders were impeding the commission's work, has found fault with the pope's recent document "You are the light of the world".

It includes a number of protocols for addressing abuse claims. It's aim is to hold church leaders accountable for actions or omissions related to the handling of such reports.

"It's still bishops investigating bishops," Collins says.

"Many would see that as just inappropriate and not the answer."

Unless there's "some sort of consequence" for bishops who ignore the policy or are negligent in handling allegations of abuse, the policy's worthless, she says.

"We've seen too much in the Church now - far too many revelations of corruption on this level. The power is corrupted. We have moral corruption, financial corruption."

Collins blames clericalism, particularly those who feel "they can basically do anything and their colleagues will protect them," but she said that "day is coming to an end."

Source

• Crux Now
• Image: Irish Times

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"If this 2019 meeting ends with nothing more than enthusiastic words about the discussions which have taken place and promises for the future, it will be the end of the road for many who have waited years for the Church to take concrete action," said Marie Collins, Irish clerical sexual abuse survivor, in a Nov. 23 interview with Crux.

Collins, a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, has been steadfast throughout the years in holding the Church accountable and calling for reform.

The interview was conducted by email.

On Nov. 23, the Vatican announced the planning committee for the summit, composed of Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago; Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the Vatican's leading prosecutor on child abuse; German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and head of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University; and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, who also serves on Francis's "C-9" council of cardinal advisors.

The absence of Cardinal Sean O'Malley, a member of the C-9 and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, has been a source of confusion for some.

But for Collins, who isn't organizing it, the event is not as important as the practical measures that it must usher in if it wants to preserve the Church's credibility on sexual abuse.

"What matters most about this meeting is not which cardinals will be taking part or involved in organizing it, but what will be on the agenda?" Collins wrote.

"What is it intended to achieve? What concrete changes will it bring?"

At the same time, Collins pointed to another notable absence in the lineup of organizers: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, who has had a vast experience in a country wreaked by clerical abuse and has enacted effective measures, Collins said, for prevention and child protection.

"He has implemented his safeguarding policy rigorously for many years and has the respect of survivors and the faithful for how he has dealt with the issue and cared for victims," she wrote.

"A man with such practical experience should be at this meeting."

According to the survivor and activist, the February gathering must be three-pronged.

It should aim at implementing "a universal safeguarding policy across all Church entities worldwide," Collins wrote.

This policy should be aligned with Francis's promised "zero tolerance" policy.

Participants must "reach a decision on a clear accountability policy for all church leaders in regard to the handling of cases of the abuse of minors."

Finally, attendees should "discern what changes are needed to canon law to facilitate all necessary provisions in these changes to safeguarding and accountability."

According to Collins, the reality of abuse prevention in the Catholic Church changes drastically depending on location, due to varying sensibilities of bishops and local culture and laws.

"The Church has resisted setting in place global policies to safeguard minors and to hold its leaders accountable," she wrote, creating "huge differentials in safety depending on location."

Collins also criticized the Church's "obsession with secrecy," which, she said, has not only led to unjust treatment of victims but also obstructed canonical trials. Continue reading

• Image: Catholic.ie

Collins, who is a clerical abuse survivor and former member of Francis' papal commission on clergy sexual abuse, says while she believes Francis has good intentions in fighting abuse she is looking for actions as well.

Rather than telling us how terrible abuse is and how all must be held accountable, Francis should say what he is doing to hold abusers accountable.

"That is what we want to hear. 'Working on it' is not an acceptable explanation for decades of 'delay'," she says.

Although Collins is delighted Francis's recent letter admits to Catholics around the world that the church covered up clergy sexual abuse for decades, she says the letter is missing "the most important thing:" a plan to hold the perpetrators of the cover-up to account.

"You can keep saying how terrible this is," she says. "And everybody knows that now. What we want to know is what are you going to do about it. And that's what we still haven't got."

Collins says it's important to her that Francis has been speaking about abuse cover-up as a fact.

"I hope at this point that the deniers and those in the laity who still are trying to deny that there has been systemic cover-up will now cease and desist with that, because for 20 years those of us who have been speaking about this have been called liars.

"We don't need the pope to confirm that there's been a systemic cover-up by church leaders but hopefully those who are still talking about this as some sort of media campaign or 'enemies of the church' or 'angry survivors' will now accept that this is a reality and it has to be dealt with."

In a tweet she sent on Monday, Collins had sharp words for those who would like to minimise or fudge the abuse problem.

"I wish those who are intent on defending the indefensible would please stop claiming clerical abuse stopped in 2002 and that it's all about gay priests anyway. It may please those in the Church who are resisting reform but serves little other purpose," she tweeted.

In another tweet, referring to Francis's letter to all Catholics, she said: "The condemnation of clericalism in the letter is good to see as it plays a big part in the ignoring of the laity, survivors and experts.

"It gives rise to the ease with which church leaders can feel comfortable protecting fellow clerics despite their crimes against children," she added.

Source

• Twitter
• Twitter
• Twitter
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: The Irish Times

Ms Collins resigned her membership of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

She says she left in frustration last March at what she saw as a lack of progress.

The commission's 3-year term ended late last year.

Pope Francis dropped Kiwi Bill Kilgallon and 5 other members when he renewed the commission this year.

He reappointed 8 of the original members and appointed 9 new ones.

New Zealander Bill Kilgallon told CathNews he has retired and did not expect reappointment.

He says the commission itself recommended more or less what has happened to the membership.

"I was not expecting to serve a second term," he says.

Retirement no barrier

But Marie Collins says retirement was not a block to commission membership.

She says some past and present members were retirees and that means they have more time for Commission work.

Collins agrees that Kilgallon has also retired but she told CathNews that was only from his role in New Zealand.

Kilgallon had been Director of the National Office of Professional Standards (NOPS).

She told CathNews that he was available despite his retirement.

Kilgallon maintains that his term was a fixed one and his retirement signalled its end.

CathNews sought comment from NOPS.

Collins says Francis has dropped some of the most active and independent members of the commission.

She says three of them were leaders of the Commission's six working groups.

"They were halfway through their work, and I'm worried these groups may now be scrapped," she says. "There is no group in the commission for survivors."

According to Collins, dropped members included French psychotherapist Catherine Bonnet and the UK's Baroness Sheila Hollins.

She also lists Kiwi Bill Kilgallon and religious congregation adviser Krysten Winter-Green, a Kiwi living in the US.

For the renewed commission, the Vatican chose eight men and eight women.

It says they're "from a multi-disciplinary field of international experts in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from the crime of sexual abuse".

The new members come from a wide geographic spread.

Their countries include Tonga, Brazil, Ethiopia and Australia, among others.

The commission says the new members will add to its global perspective.

During his recent trip to South America, Pope Francis addressed concerns about the expiry of the Commission's mandate, saying the time taken to nominate members to the body was normal.

He has reappointed eight of the previous Pontifical Commission members added nine new members. Six former members have not been reappointed.

The Commission's 16 members (eight men and eight women) will be led by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston as its president.

Msgr. Robert Oliver of Boston will be its secretary.

The Commission has released a statement saying some of its members are abuse survivors. They have not yet publicly identified themselves.

The Commission says it "believes that their privacy in this matter is to be respected."

The nine new members of the commission come from a diverse set of places, including: Ethiopia, India, Tonga, Brazil, Australia and the Netherlands.

The new members are:

• Benyam Mezmur, who teaches law at Ethiopia's Dullah Omar Institute;
• Teresa Kettelkamp, a former executive director of the U.S. bishops' secretariat of child and youth protection
• Religious of Jesus and Mary Sr. Arina Gonsalves, a vice provincial for her order in India;
• Neville Owen, a former senior judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Western Australia;
• Sinaelelea Fe'ao, coordinator of religious education for the Tonga and Niue diocese;
• Myriam Wijlens, a canon law professor at the University of Erfurt in Germany;
• Ernesto Caffo, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Italy's University of Modena and Reggio Emilia;
• Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood Sr. Jane Bertelsen, her order's congregational leader; and,
• Nelson Giovanelli, founder of a Brazilian drug rehabilitation center.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• America Magazine
• Vatican News
• Image: Catholic Herald

Scicluna will travel to New York next week to interview the victim, Juan Carlos Cruz. The victim is at the centre of a scandal involving Pope Francis.

Cruz says a letter he wrote in 2015 asking Pope Francis to listen to his testimony about clergy abuse and its subsequent cover-up has been ignored.

The Associated Press (AP) claims Francis received the victim's letter in 2015, which detailed how a priest sexually abused him and how other Chilean clergy ignored it.

The AP statements contradict Francis's insistence that no victims had come forward to denounce the coverup.

If the APs statements are true, they could undermine Francis's assertions of "zero tolerance" for sexual abuse and those who seek to cover it up.

The accusations against Francis emerged last month during his trip to South America.

Francis said he had not heard from any victims about Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused of witnessing and ignoring abuse perpetrated by Fr. Fernando Karadima.

His response that the accusations were slanderous sparked an outcry in Chile.

Marie Collins, who was a founding member of Pope Francis's Commission for the Protection of Minors but who resigned in early 2017, says his handling of the Chilean abuse survivor's letter has "definitely undermined credibility, trust and hope" in Francis.

"He has said all the right things and he has expressed all the right views on abuse, and the harm and the hurt, but in this case at least it would seem his actions have not matched the words, and that is sad," she says.

Collins says she personally handed the letter from Cruz to Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the Commission for the Protection of Minors.

"Cardinal O'Malley said he would hand it to the pope, and he told us later he had done so and that he had discussed the concerns with the pope himself," Collins says.

Francis told reporters on a flight back from South America that no victims had come forward to him about the case.

Source

• The Spec
• Crux Now
• The Star
• Image: Duna

Despite this, Pope Francis said the Vatican is on "the right path" to resolving each of them.

Francis has always made it clear that he has "zero tolerance" for sexual abuse.

Speaking during an in-flight interview after leaving Fatima about the Vatican's handling of sexual abuse, Francis says he has agreed for additional staff to be hired to help with the work.

There have also been new clerical and organsiational efforts made to streamline the way the cases are managed.

Both the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Cardinal Gerhard Muller, the chief of the doctrinal office that handles abuse cases, are looking for more people capable of dealing with these cases.

Francis said it is "a great step forward" that most dioceses around the world have protocols on how to act when accusations of abuse arise.

Bishops now know how to produce the dossier studied by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

He also spoke of Marie Collins, whom he described as "a great woman".

He agreed she was "a bit right" to complain about the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's slow pace in processing cases.

This is why the Vatican are stepping up their search for suitable people to help reduce their backlog of outstanding cases, he said.

Collins is an Irish clerical abuse survivor who resigned from his sex abuse advisory commission in March. She said she resigned because of the "unacceptable" resistance in the Vatican to implementing the group's proposals to better care for victims and protect children.

One aspect he did not not discuss was the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's refusal to create a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for pedophile priests.

Source

• Global News
• Stuff
• Crux
• Image: The Ski Diva

Dear Cardinal Müller,

I read with interest the answers you gave to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera March 5 in reply to items in my statement following my resignation from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. There are some things you say in this interview to which I feel I need to respond.

You state you "cannot understand the talk of lack of cooperation" between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and the pontifical commission.

Maybe I can help with an example. In 2015, invitations went to your Congregation from some of the commission's working groups asking that a representative attend their upcoming meetings in Rome to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The invitations were declined and then the members were informed by the Commission Secretary, Msgr. Robert Oliver, that face-to-face meetings would not be possible and any communication with dicasteries must be done in writing.

Things changed eventually, but this took over a year. It was September 2016 before a representative of the CDF was made available and attended Commission working group meetings. The discussions which ensued were very helpful, hopefully for your Congregation as well as the Commission.

You say that "in recent years there has been a permanent contact" between the commission and the CDF.
I don't know what form this permanent contact took. All I can say is the members of the Commission did not receive any formal reports or see any positive results generated by such contact. Continue reading

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: AsiaNews.it

She cited "shameful" resistance within the Vatican to the group's efforts to protect children.

Collins has now written an open letter about her resignation to Cardinal Gerhard Müller.

In it she responded to an interview he gave an Italian newspaper on 5 March, shortly after her resignation.

In the interview, Müller, who is is the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, claimed he could not understand Collins's "talk of lack of cooperation".

In response Collins wrote that in 2015 the working group invited the Congregation to provide a representative to attend their upcoming meetings in Rome to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Collins says the invitation was declined.

Working group members were informed by the Commission Secretary that face-to-face meetings would not be possible.

They were told any communication with dicasteries must be done in writing.

Collins also questioned Müller's statement that "in recent years there has been a permanent contact" between the panel and the Congregation.

"I don't know what form this permanent contact took.

"All I can say is the members of the Commission did not receive any formal reports or see any positive results generated by such contact," she said.

She noted that although Müller says the Congregation supplied a member, Claudio Papale, to the panel, Papale ceased active involvement with the Commission in 2015.

Collins said a number of Müller's claims were contrary to the Pope's expectations of the panel.

These included Müller's suggestion the fight against clerical pedophilia was just a "project" and his lack of formal knowledge about the claims of abuse, which he called "incidents".

Source

• NPR
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: News - Yahoo

Marie Collins' home phone in Dublin is hot; people are calling her from all over the world. The news of her resignation from Pope Francis' anti-abuse commission comes out of the blue on the day the Catholic Church celebrates the beginning of the penitential season of Lent.

Marie as a young girl was abused by a priest and has always been committed to helping the victims of pedophilia.

You have mentioned of an internal resistance. Do you believe the Curia is resisting the new rules against this terrible phenomenon of child abuse?

No, I do not think that there are resistances to the norms or specific action against pedophilia. It is rather the gut feeling that some considered our commission's work as an interference.

I do not know if this is part of the resistance against the Pope. What I found was a general unwillingness to cooperate.

You have however mentioned at least one specific case, arguing that it was the straw that broke the camel: the lack of commitment on the behalf of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to answer all the letters by abuse survivors.

I do not want to tell the names of the dicasteries. But yes, it is a specific case.

If you are an abuse survivor and write to tell your story asking for help and justice, and yet you do not receive a response, you are wounded once again. That is hard to understand.

Yet, both Benedict XVI and Francis have met with the victims, have listened to them, they have received them.

Francis had agreed to our recommendation. We asked that each individual victim should always receive a direct response. The Pope agreed, but some did not want to follow this indication. Continue reading

Sources

• La Stampa
• Image: Feminist Current

In a motu proprio released on Saurday, the Pope empowered several Vatican dicasteries to investigate such bishops and initiate processes of removal, subject to papal approval.

In a preamble to the motu proprio, Francis noted that the canon law "already foresees the possibility of removal from the ecclesial office 'for grave causes'".

The Pope wrote that "grave causes" now includes "negligence of bishops in the exercise of their office, particularly relative to cases of sexual abuse against minors and vulnerable adults".

The ruling applies to bishops, eparchs or heads of religious communities.

The relevant Roman congregations can start an investigation if negligence by such figures caused "physical, moral, spiritual or patrimonial" harm.

There can be a legitimate removal from office if such a person "has by negligence, place or omitted acts caused serious harm to others, whether their physical persons or the community as a whole".

"The diocesan bishop or eparch can be removed only if he has objectively been lacking in a very grave manner the diligence that is required of his pastoral office," the document continued.

"In the case of abuse against minors or vulnerable adults it is sufficient that the lacking of diligence be grave," it was specified.

Those subject to such a process will be able to defend themselves.

A "special association of legal experts" will help the Pope in making final decisions in such cases.

The Vatican stated that it is foreseen that such an association will be composed of cardinals and bishops.

The new law takes effect on September 5.

Marie Collins, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and an abuse survivor, said she welcomes the new procedures.

She said she hopes they bring accountability, but the important thing is the implementation.

The Vatican said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is not among the dicasteries that will conduct investigations covered by the motu proprio.

This is because the offences involve negligence of office, not crimes of abuse itself.

Last year it was announced that the Pope had approved the creation of a new tribunal in the CDF to judge bishops "with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors".

But thus far no personnel have been appointed to this body.

The Associated Press reported that this tribunal was scrapped after it ran into opposition and the Pope instead opted to clarify legal procedures.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• Crux
• Washington Post
• Image: Deccan Chronicle

Marie Collins, an abuse survivor, referred to commission's proposal that a Vatican tribunal be set up hold bishops to account for their handling of abuse cases.

This was approved by the Council of Cardinals and the Pope, but it stalled.

"It was announced in the press, then it went to be implemented and that's where the brick wall is," she said.

Ms Collins said the same thing happened with the commission's proposals for the training of new bishops.

Continue reading

In a video taken of a conversation in St Peter's Square five months ago, Francis mentioned the case of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid of Osorno.

"Don't be led around by the nose by these leftists who are the ones who put this [opposition] together," the Pope is heard saying to a former spokesman for Chile's bishops.

"Osorno suffers for being stupid because it has not opened its heart to what God says," Francis also said in the video.

Abuse survivor and member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors Marie Collins tweeted that she was "saddened and disappointed" at the Pope's comments.

Continue reading

Leaked emails from 2013 and 2014 between Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago and his predecessor Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz showtheir efforts to block the appointment of Juan Carlos Cruz.

The cardinals feared such an appointment would damage the Church and would allow "lies" to gain currency.

They also discussed the key Vatican officials they needed to consult to prevent Cruz from being invited to speak at a meeting of Anglophone bishops on sex abuse.

Cruz has been outspoken in accusing Cardinal Errazuriz of covering up for the crimes of abuser Fr Ferando Karadima.

Commission member Marie Collins said she was "disgusted" at the cardinals' attitude and said it would be discussed by the commission.

Continue reading

Abuse survivor Marie Collins told the Irish Times that the commission has made good progress in some areas, but in others, progress has been "very slow".

"My expectation was that the work would be done more quickly," she said.

Her fellow commission members are "really good and have the right intentions".

She does not believe the slow pace is "intentional hindrance".

At the Vatican "they simply do things in a very different way to the secular world. They've been doing things that way for so long they don't see it as slow. I find it frustrating".

Ms Collins also said some in the Vatican "find it a little difficult to work with lay people, women in particular".

"There's been no overt stumbling block or anything put in our way.

"It's just my own personal feeling, my own lack of trust, my own cynicism because of my history."

In the article, she expressed a fear that a future pope may not be as focussed as Pope Francis is on this area.

"My fear is that if we had a change, would the same impetus be there? Every pope has different priorities."

She said she knows that survivor groups are wary of the commission.

"I received a lot of criticism for agreeing to be part of it."

Ms Collins said the "biggest stress of all [of being on the commission] is other survivors being in contact, because I cannot do anything for them".

"Emotionally that's very, very difficult."

But she replies to everyone.

The commission has agreed on an annual Day of Prayer for Survivors of Abuse.

Sources

• Irish Times
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald

The Vatican press office stated: "Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency Msgr Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of Osorno, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined the prelate's candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment."

Bishop Barros's installation Mass last month was cut short after protests at the cathedral in Osorno.

Chilean clergy sexual abuse survivors accuse Bishop Barros of covering up abuse by Fr Fernando Karadima when Bishop Barros was a priest.

Fr Karadima, a once-renowned spiritual leader, was found guilty by the Vatican in 2011 of sexually abusing minors.

He was ordered to retire to a life of penitence and prayer.

Chilean criminal charges against Fr Karadima were dropped because of technicalities, including the expiry of the statute of limitations time period since the crimes.

Survivors say that as a priest, Bishop Barros not only worked to cover up Fr Karadima's crimes, but witnessed some of them as they happened.

Bishop Barros, who previously served as the head of Chile's diocese for the military, has denied the claims.

He said he "never had knowledge or imagined the serious abuses that this priest [Karadima] committed with his victim".

Five members of the Pontificial Commission for the Protection of Minors have expressed "concern and incredulity" at Bishop Barros's appointment.

Commission member and abuse survivor Marie Collins from Ireland said: "The voice of the survivors is being ignored."

She added that " . . . the safety of children in this diocese is being left in the hands of a bishop about whom there are grave concerns for his commitment to child protection".

Another commission member and abuse survivor, Peter Saunders, has said he might have to quit the commission unless Pope Francis withdraws the Barros appointment.

Both Pope Francis and commission head Cardinal Sean O'Malley have previously pledged that gaps around bishops' accountability on abuse cover ups will be filled.

Sources:

• The Tablet
• National Catholic Reporter
• Crux
• BBC
• Image: Catholic News Agency

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

The Commission for the Protection of Minors, which Pope Francis established in December, will also have more representatives from other countries and disciplines.

Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins is already a member of the commission, headed by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston.

The commission is now awaiting the Pope's approval of members' latest efforts as they aim to lay out a pastoral approach to helping victims and prevent future abuse.

Ms Collins told media that the group has agreed on its provisional statutes and finalised a list of potential new members.

She also said that the commission has created working groups that will focus on priestly formation, accountability and reaching out to survivors.

The commission met for the third time at the Vatican on October 4-5.

Getting input from survivors is "essential" for an appropriate, effective and compassionate response to the crisis, said Mark Vincent Healy, one of six abuse survivors who met Pope Francis at the Vatican in July.

Continue reading

Towards Peace was launched on May 25 in Cork with a Mass of healing and reconciliation.

The initiative seeks to help survivors re-engage with their faith.

It is being rolled out regionally in Ireland over the next few months.

It aims to provide a "spiritual companion" to accompany an abuse victim in a healing journey.

Another goal is to help survivors find forgiveness for the institutional Church for its failings.

Requests from abuse survivors in Ireland saw the Towards Peace service set up, chair Una Allen said.

Marie Collins, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said she wished the initiative well.

But The Tablet reported Ms Collins warned it should not be used "to pull people back into the Catholic Church".

Ms Collins, who was abused by a priest when she was a teenager, said the spiritual companions must include some lay people.

This is because some victims of sexual abuse by Church personnel may not be comfortable being accompanied by a priest or religious, she said.

Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross said survivors had "suffered terribly and their suffering was compounded by inadequate responses over the years by the Irish church".

He said he believed the survivors were now "very happy with what we are trying to do for them".

The bishop said that was shown by the good turnout at the launch despite European Parliament elections and a sports game involving a local team.

However, he acknowledged that some survivors are unhappy with the new service because it is a Church initiative.

Towards Peace is backed by the bishops (ICBC), the Irish Missionary Union and the Conference of Religious Superiors (CORI).

Last week, Pope Francis announced he will meet a group of clergy sex abuse survivors.

Some of these are expected to be from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Irish Independent
• Image: BBC