A seismic shift…but concrete action is the next step

As a decisive move towards a unified approach to the cancer of abuse, Rome’s unprecedented summit is a step forward, 
but the proof will be in the detail, writes Michael Kelly

In his closing remarks to the summit on the protection of minors at the weekend, Pope Francis summoned the bishops and religious superiors with somewhat of a battle cry. The time has come, the Pontiff said, for an “all-out battle” against the abuse, erasing this abominable crime from the face of the earth.

Since the problem is present on every continent, the Pope said he called leaders of the world’s bishops and religious superiors to Rome because “I wanted us to face it together in a co-responsible and collegial way”, he said.

“We listened to the voice of victims, we prayed and asked for forgiveness from God and the people hurt, we took stock of our responsibility, and our duty to bring justice through truth and to radically reject every form” of sexual abuse and the abuse of power and conscience, he said.

“We want every activity and every place in the Church to be completely safe for minors,” he said, which means taking every possible measure so that such crimes never happen again.

If the main purpose of the summit was to ensure that every part of the Church is on the same page on the issue of abuse, it seems safe to cautiously hail the gathering as a success. Some victims and survivors expressed disappointment over what they perceived as a lack of concrete action, but organisers were keen to ask people to wait just a little bit longer for such progress.

What Francis did make clear is that never again will a religious leader be able to say they were unaware of the issue of abuse. Speaking in the Sala Regia, the Pope told some 190 cardinals, bishops and religious superiors from around the world, “the time has come, then, to work together to eradicate this evil from the body of our humanity by adopting every necessary measure already in force on the international level and ecclesial levels”.

“I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas, on the part of all authorities and individuals, for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth,” he said.

Concrete
 actions

Fr Federico Lombardi, who was moderator of the four-day gathering told reporters after the conclusion that the work to ensure that laws and concrete actions are in place is just beginning.

According to Fr Lombardi, the Pope will soon publish a new set of laws and guidelines concerning child protection for Vatican City State.

The measures, he said, will be issued ‘motu proprio’, on the Pope’s own accord, and will be “presented and published in the near future”.

Another initiative that will be available in “a few weeks or a month or two” is a handbook or vademecum for bishops, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Fr Lombardi insisted that the handbook will list a set of guidelines and “will help bishops around the world clearly understand their duties and tasks” when handling cases of abuse. He said the Pope also wants to amend the current law concerning the crime of a cleric acquiring, possessing or distributing pornographic images of minors by extending the age from 14 years old to include young people under the age of 18.

Lastly, Pope Francis has also expressed his intention to establish task forces “made up of competent persons” that will assist dioceses and episcopal conferences “that find it difficult to confront the problems and produce initiatives for the protection of minors,” especially when they lack the needed resources and skilled personnel.

According to Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, the summit showed that the universal Church is moving “much closer” to a worldwide policy of permanently removing priests from ministry after a single case of abuse – often known as ‘zero tolerance’.

He insisted that the “default position” should be that abusive priests “will not minister in any capacity, but also that you will be monitored very closely, both in the Church and by civil authorities.”

“In the case of someone who has abused a child, I don’t think there’s any way they can return to pastoral ministry,” according to Archbishop Eamon.

He said: “I think there is now a very strong realisation of the heinous nature of the sinful and criminal act” of abuse.

He said that he felt there was a very clear sense at the gathering that transparency was key to restoring confidence. “Secrecy must go out the window,” when it comes to the abuse of children, he said. “Secrecy has been one of the root causes of the problem we are in today.”

He said that all representatives at the summit must be “committed to go home with actions,” and he said for him, the issue of accountability would serve as his homework, particularly when it comes to overseeing bishops.

He also said that the task of protecting children must be first and foremost a local response. “I’m always frightened of the note that safeguarding can be commanded from Rome…really, safeguarding happens on the ground,” he said, adding that the Holy See must also evidence a “collective commitment to accountability,” as well.

“I think it’s very important that we see this issue of accountability at all levels,” he added.

Pope Francis proposed 21 ‘reflection points’ for the key meeting

1. To prepare a practical handbook indicating the steps to be taken by authorities at key moments when a case emerges.
2. To equip oneself with listening structures that include trained and expert people who can initially discern the cases of the alleged victims.
3. Establish the criteria for the direct involvement of the bishop or of the religious superior.
4. Implement shared procedures for the examination of the charges, the protection of the victims and the right of defence of the accused.
5. Inform the civil authorities and the higher ecclesiastical authorities in compliance with civil and canonical norms.
6. Make a periodic review of protocols and norms to safeguard a protected environment for minors in all pastoral structures: protocols and norms based on the integrated principles of justice and charity so that the action of the Church in this matter is in conformity with her mission.
7. Establish specific protocols for handling accusations against bishops.
8. Accompany, protect and treat victims, offering them all the necessary support for a complete recovery.
9. Increase awareness of the causes and consequences of sexual abuse through ongoing formation initiatives of bishops, religious superiors, clerics and pastoral workers.
10. Prepare pathways of pastoral care for communities injured by abuses and penitential and recovery routes for the perpetrators.
11. To consolidate the collaboration with all people of good will and with the operators of mass media in order to recognise and discern real cases from false ones and accusations of slander, avoiding rancour and insinuations, rumours and defamation (cf. Pope Francis’ address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2018).
12. To raise the minimum age for marriage to 16 years.
13. Establish provisions that regulate and facilitate the participation of lay experts in investigations and in the different degrees of judgment of canonical processes concerning sexual and / or power abuse.
14. The right to defence: the principle of natural and canon law of presumption of innocence must also be safeguarded until the guilt of the accused is proven. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the lists of the accused being published, even by the dioceses, before the preliminary investigation and the definitive condemnation.
15. Observe the traditional principle of proportionality of punishment with respect to the crime committed. To decide that priests and bishops guilty of sexual abuse of minors leave the public ministry.
16. Introduce rules concerning seminarians and candidates for the priesthood or religious life. Be sure that there are programmes of initial and ongoing formation to help them develop their human, spiritual and psychosexual maturity, as well as their interpersonal relationships and their behaviour.
17. Be sure to have psychological evaluations by qualified and accredited experts for candidates for the priesthood and consecrated life.
18. Establish norms governing the transfer of a seminarian or religious aspirant from one seminary to another; as well as a priest or religious from one diocese or congregation to another.
19. Formulate mandatory codes of conduct for all clerics, religious, service personnel and volunteers to outline appropriate boundaries in personal relationships. Be specific about the necessary requirements for staff and volunteers and check their criminal record.
20. Explain all information and data on the dangers of abuse and its effects, how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report suspected sexual abuse. All this must take place in collaboration with parents, teachers, professionals and civil authorities.
21. Where it has not yet been in place, establish a group easily accessible for victims who want to report any crimes. Such an organisation should have a certain autonomy with respect to the local ecclesiastical authority and include expert persons (clerics and laity) who know how to express the Church’s attention to those who have been offended by improper attitudes on the part of clerics.