Making reparation to clergy sex abuse survivors is critical, Pope Francis told the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Friday. “The sexual abuse of minors by clergy and its poor handling by Church leaders has been one of the greatest challenges for the Church in our time. “Now is the time to repair Read more
New Zealand’s National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) looks forward to hearing from either the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (pictured) or the Dicastery for Evangelisation regarding a new sex abuse memorandum. On 21 April the heads of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Dicastery for Evangelisation signed 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
The Global South region of the Catholic Church is missing out, says a member of the Vatican’s advisory commission on clerical sexual abuse. He admitted on Friday that the Church was failing to tackle the scourge of clerical sexual abuse in the southern hemisphere. There was a “disparity in training and prevention of child sexual Read more
Pope Francis has asked for an annual audit providing a “reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change” to protect children and vulnerable adults from predator clergy. Each country will contribute to the audit evaluating how national Catholic Churches are implementing such measures. “Without more transparency the faithful will continue Read more
Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to produce an annual report on what the Catholic Church is doing around the world to prevent the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. In an audience at the Vatican on April 29, the pope called on the commission to produce the annual Read more
A female survivor of abuse by a priest has written to seminarians imploring them to become good priests and to make sure the “bitter truth” always prevails. The letter, written in Italian, was sent to Pope Francis who requested it be made public with the author’s identity withheld. “Please, do not sweep things under the Read more
A former member of Pope Francis’ commission on clergy sexual abuse said the recent revision of the criminal section of the Catholic Church’s canon law do not go far enough to protect children and vulnerable adults from possible predators. Marie Collins pointed out that the new provisions do not mandate that a priest found guilty Read more
Pope Francis has appointed a prominent Chilean survivor of clerical sex abuse to a Vatican commission that focuses on education to prevent abuse in the Catholic Church. Juan Carlos Cruz, an international advocate for abuse victims, has been appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The 59-year-old Cruz was abused as a Read more