Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley Bishops are obliged to report all suspected cases of abuse to the civil authorities, the head of the Church’s global advisory panel on tackling abuse has declared.
On behalf of the entire Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, commission president Cardinal Seán O’Malley issued a statement in which he said that prelates are called not merely to abide by civil regulations, but to go beyond those requirements.
Obligations
“Our obligations under civil law must certainly be followed,” Cardinal O’Malley said, continuing, “but even beyond these civil requirements, we all have a moral and ethical responsibility to report suspected abuse to the civil authorities who are charged with protecting our society”.
The cardinal’s statement followed a week during which the Church’s child protection commitment seemed in crisis. Just days after commission member and abuse survivor Peter Saunders, head of the UK-based National Association for People Abused in Childhood, was suspended from the commission on February 6, a fresh storm broke out after it was revealed that a priest advising new bishops on how to respond to abuse allegations had said that even where reporting was mandatory, it was “not necessarily” a bishop’s duty to report to civil authorities as soon as he has learned of an accusation.
Allegations
The priest involved has since clarified that while bishops might not be obliged to report allegations immediately, they should do so if those bringing abuse allegations to their attention are not willing to do so themselves.
Cardinal O’Malley reiterated that the “crimes and sins of the sexual abuse of children must not be kept secret for any longer,” quoting Pope Francis as he continued, “I pledge the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and the promise of accountability for all.”
As an example of how the Church in his home country now deals with abuse allegations, the cardinal related how the US bishops’ charter “clearly states the obligation that all dioceses/eparchies and personnel report suspected abuse to the public authorities” with this obligation being reaffirmed at a training session for new bishops every year and at special extra training sessions every second year.
He described how the commission has recently shared with Pope Francis an overview of its “extensive education efforts in local Churches over the past two years”, reiterating the commission members’ willingness to provide this material at courses taught in Rome whether for new bishops or curial staff.