"If the pope was wavering, I don't think he'd give the commission the support he's been giving it," said Teresa Kettelkamp, referring to the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The pontiff established the commission in 2014 to advise him on anti-abuse measures.

The commission hired Kettelkamp, a veteran law enforcement professional who headed the US Bishops' Child Protection Office from 2005 to 2011, in January to develop a template for anti-abuse guidelines and a set of "best practices" for use by bishops' conferences around the world.

Kettelkamp told Crux in an exclusive interview that the existence of a Vatican commission in itself is a sign of the pontiff's resolve.

"It exists at the Vatican, it's not someplace else in some remote part of the world, it's right here inside the Vatican, and that's a huge message," she said.

"I wouldn't be here if I had any doubt," she told Crux.

Sources

Crux
Image: Crux