Pope Francis on Friday disclosed that changes to an advisory body on preventing sexual abuse represented a wonderful fresh start in the fight against paedophile priests. He however conceded that ‘much remains to be done’.
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that the pope had in March moved the Commission for the Protection of Minors into the Vatican’s doctrine office which is believed to be very powerful, which oversees the church’s investigations of abuse cases, in a bid to allow it the institutional power critics said it was lacking.
Speaking on Friday, he said’; ‘the reform ‘marks a new beginning’, the 85-year-old told commission members at the conclusion of their plenary meeting Friday.
Read Also: Sex Abuse Scandal: Ex-Pope Benedict XVI Apologises
It also signified a further push in the pope’s efforts targeted at restoring trust in the Catholic Church over a scourge which has plagued it globally.
He ordered the commission to draw up a “reliable” annual report on the church’s initiatives on protecting minors, which he said was essential for “transparency and accountability”, and he hoped would “provide a clear audit of our progress in this effort”.
‘Without that progress, the faithful will continue to lose trust,’ he said.
Francis directly addressed fears the change in status could weaken the papal advisory body, which was created in 2014 and often found itself at odds with the Vatican’s doctrine office.
‘Someone might think that this could put at risk your freedom of thought and action, or even take away importance from the issue with which you deal,’ he said.
‘That is not my intention, nor is it my expectation. And I invite you to be watchful that this does not happen.’
Marie Collins who is an Irish survivor of clerical abuse who served on the commission before resigning in 2017 over the church’s handling of the crisis, said in March the change meant the advisory body had ‘officially lost even a semblance of independence’.
The commission remains ‘independent’, the pope insisted Friday, repeating the word twice to reiterate importance.
He said it was up to the commission to make sure ‘every sector’ of the church protected minors and looked after victims of abuse.
Africa Today News, New York
