Vatican commission reports gains and challenges in abuse prevention

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A report published Tuesday (Oct. 29) by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors details the steps the Catholic Church has taken in recent years to prevent sexual abuse, while recognizing the shortcomings of its current safeguards against abuse.

“This pilot report, which comes as the commission marks its 10th anniversary, is a snapshot of the journey of conversion that we have been on,” said Cardinal Sean O’Malley, president of the commission and with 40 years of experience handling the clerical abuse crisis, at a news conference at the Vatican on Tuesday.

“It is a journey towards a transparent and accountable ministry of safeguarding, towards greater outreach, welcome and support for victims and survivors, in their pursuit of justice and healing,” said O’Malley, who is archbishop of Boston.

In 2022, the commission was put under the jurisdiction of the Vatican’s doctrinal department, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. While members of the commission initially “balked” at the loss of their independence, O’Malley said, they have since had a change of heart, since the move means the commission will be a permanent one. “We still have that independence that will help us in our role of advocacy and trust by the victims,” he added.

The same year, Pope Francis asked the commission to draft a report offering “a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that the competent authorities can act.” Such a report would be a step toward “transparency and accountability,” the pope said, for a laity that is losing trust due to the clerical abuse crisis.

The report does not give any data on how many cases of abuse are being handled by the DDF nor does it offer comprehensive information on instances of abuse in local churches, because of “time and capacity constraints,” the report said, as well as a “lack of reliable data in some countries.”

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the Dutch jurist and former special rapporteur on child trafficking and pornography for the U.N., who oversaw the drafting of the report, observed that “regrettably, much of the church remains without robust data collection practices or capacities” and said the church “must commit to investing in the church’s data collection infrastructure and resources!”

De Boer-Buquicchio praised the report, however, for offering “mechanisms for change in the short-term” and guidelines for church leaders at all the levels for implementing safeguarding measures.

The report made use of focus groups with clerical abuse survivors, who pointed to the primary failures of the church’s handling of abuse. It recommended better access for victims to information about their cases, especially regarding canonical trials, which often take place and yield verdicts without informing victims.

“Waiting without information and updates can be a source of re-traumatization for victims,” the report said. The commission also admitted that a shortage of employees at the DDF means not every case goes to trial promptly.

“The number of cases handled by the DDF is so great,” O’Malley said, that “some people are waiting sometimes for years.”

The report said justice for victims and prevention of new cases was uneven across the church’s jurisdictions. North America, Europe and Oceania have created adequate structures to address abuse, the report said, while Africa, Asia and South America lag behind due to a lack of resources. “The Commission therefore noted the urgency of increasing solidarity among episcopal conferences, to mobilize resources for a universal standard in safeguarding,” the report said.

Last year, to address the needs of the Global South, Francis asked the commission to develop safeguarding measures in an effort called the Memorare Initiative, which will create centers for abuse reporting and victim assistance and build a network of safeguarding professionals at the local level.

But compliance with existing church legislation can vary from one nation’s church to another, the report found. “While some Church entities and Church authorities demonstrate a clear commitment to safeguarding, others are only at the beginning of undertaking the Church’s responsibility regarding the occurrence of abuse,” it said. Everywhere, the commission found “a troubling lack” of abuse reporting structures and survivor accompaniment services.

These national churches, the report said, often “do not have a long tradition of compiling data” about abuse, and the current system of reporting abuse relies too much on bishops’ testimony when they report on their diocese to Rome in annual “ad limina” visits. 

The commission hopes to review 15 to 20 local churches a year, with the goal of reviewing the entire church in six years. This year’s report investigated four countries in depth (Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Belgium and Cameroon) and offered 13 shorter reports of other nations. It also reviewed the practices of the Consolata Missionary Sisters and the male Congregation of the Holy Spirit.

Though Francis expanded the definition of who is vulnerable to abuse to include adults, the report asked that a “more uniform definition of vulnerability” be incorporated into canon law and that the Vatican improve its training on safeguarding people against abuse. In addition, it found that various departments of the church’s bureaucracy, the Roman Curia, need more clarity about their responsibilities when it comes to abuse.

Other recommendations include a “need for a streamlined process for discharge from office” for priests found guilty of abuse and clearer guidelines for compensation and damages for victims. “Reparation is not necessarily financial compensation,” said Boer-Buquicchiot. Administering justice and issuing apologies are also forms of reparation, she said, promising that the next report will delve more deeply into the question of reparations for victims of abuse.

At Tuesday’s news conference, abuse survivor Juan Carlos Cruz, who is a consultant to the commission, expressed gratitude for the commission’s work so far. “I never thought that I would be sitting here, that I would be working on something like this with extraordinary people. I want to thank Pope Francis for listening, thanking and believing survivors.”