Vatican sex abuse body to publish first annual report
The pope's commission on clerical child sex abuse said
Friday it will publish its first annual report next week, a decade after the
body was established.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said
the report coming on Tuesday would be a "first step" documenting
"where risks remain, and where advances can be found".
Pope Francis set up the panel of experts in December 2014
amid an avalanche of revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy across the
world, and subsequent cover-ups.
However, it has faced strong criticism over its organisation,
funding and role, with numerous high-profile members quitting.
In 2022, Francis incorporated the body into the Roman Curia
-- the government of the Holy See -- and asked for an annual, "reliable
account of what is presently being done and what needs to change".
Next week's report "collects resources and good
practices to be shared across the Universal Church, and makes specific
recommendations to promote further progress in safeguarding", the
commission said in a statement Friday.
Maud de Boer Buquicchio, a Dutch lawyer and former UN
special rapporteur on the sexual exploitation of children who chaired the
report, said it addressed concerns about the "lack of data
available".
It would be a "tool for promoting a change of
mindset" within the Church to embrace "accountability and
transparency", she said.
The report will be divided into four areas -- a review of
safeguarding policies in 15 to 20 local churches each year, trends across
continents, policies within the Vatican and the Church's broader role in
society.
Members of the commission are directly appointed by the pope
and are experts in fields related to safeguarding, from clinical psychology to
law as well as human rights.
But the body has been plagued by difficulties from its early
years, with two members representing abuse survivors resigning in 2017.
In March 2023, influential German Jesuit priest Hans Zollner
also quit, complaining about "structural and practical issues".
Francesco Zanardi, founder of Italian survivors group Rete
L'Abuso (The Abuse Network), told AFP at the time that the commission was
"absolutely useless".
Since taking office in March 2013, Francis has lifted papal
secrecy on sexual abuse by clergy and obliged both clergy and lay people to
report all cases to their superiors.
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