The statement from the commission set up to advise Pope Francis on best practice in the fight against child sexual abuse came after its most recent meeting in Rome.

In order to comply with one of the Pope's goals for the commission, that of promoting local responsibility, members have been "actively in contact" with bishops' conferences and others.

"Over the past year or so, commission members have met with bishops and child protection authorities in: Philippines, Austria, Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Scotland, Poland, Central America (in Costa Rica), United States," the statement noted.

The director of the National Office for Professional Standards in New Zealand, Bill Kilgallon, is a member of the 17-person commission.

A workshop conducted by commission members last year in the Philippines saw that nation's bishops create a child safeguarding office.

The commission's statement added that it is preparing to ask Pope Francis to remind all bishops of the importance of responding personally to abuse victims and survivors who approach them.

The commission stated it is preparing to ask the Pope to institute a "Universal Day of Prayer" as well as a penitential liturgy for the crime of sexual abuse.

In upcoming months, commission members say they'll hold workshops on the legal aspects of the protection of minors.

This will be with the goal of promoting more transparent Church trials.

Another goal is the establishment of a website to facilitate sharing of best practices for the protection of minors around the world.

The September, 2016, meeting of the commission will have a strategic focus on safeguarding minors in Catholic schools.

Sources

• Vatican Radio
• Crux
• NZCBC
• Image: World for Travel

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

Fr Thomas Doyle, OP, met four members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors last month.

The priest emphasised two main points: The need for real accountability on the part of bishops and the need for the Church to be far more committed than it is to the welfare of victims.

He told the panel that priests and bishops who have publicly supported victims "have been punished in some way by Church authorities".

"Those who continue to minister to this issue in various ways remain under suspicion" and are "criticised, slandered and devalued" by other clerics and Church leaders, he said.

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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