Pope creates tribunal on sex abuse cases
Francis praised for ‘listening to his commission’
Pope Francis has approved the first-ever system for judging, and possibly deposing, bishops who fail to protect children from abusive clerics, a major step in responding to Catholic concerns that guilty priests have been defrocked while bishops largely escaped punishment.
The five-point plan on accountability for bishops originated with the special sex-abuse commission that Francis set up to deal with the ongoing crisis. After some modifications, his nine– member Council of Cardinals unanimously signed off on it and Francis gave his final blessing to it Wednesday.
“Very pleased the Pope has approved the Commission’s proposal on accountability,” tweeted Marie Collins of Ireland, one of two victims of sex abuse by clergy who sit on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Peter Saunders of England, the other victim on the commission, called the new system “good news,” telling the Catholic news site Crux that “this is a positive step that clearly indicates that Pope Francis is listening to his commission.”
Saunders’ support is notable as he has said that if the pope did not institute a reliable system for holding bishops’ feet to the fire he would leave the panel.
Saunders is also embroiled in an ugly verbal tussle with Cardi- nal George Pell, the pontiff ’s top financial official, who Saunders has accused of being “almost sociopathic” in his handling of clergy sex abuse when Pell served as a bishop in Australia.
The Vatican has defended Pell, a blunt-talking churchman who is likely to return to Australia to testify before a government commission investigating the church’s abuse history.
Victims’ advocates in the USA, who led efforts for years to break the clerical wall of silence on abuse, took a much more skeptical stance on the new moves.
“Accountability necessarily involves consequences for wrongdoers. Whether a new, untested, Vatican-ruled process will mean consequences for wrongdoers remains to be seen,” said David Clohessy, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
“This move will give hope to some,” Clohessy said. “But hope doesn’t safeguard kids. Punishing men who endanger kids safeguards kids. That should have happened decades ago. … That’s not happening now. And that must happen — strongly and soon — if the church is to be safer.”
A test case for the new system might be in Minnesota after a county attorney filed criminal charges last week against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The criminal charges were a first against an archdiocese and allege that church leaders failed to protect children from molesting cleric.
The head of the archdiocese, Archbishop John Nienstedt, was not charged. Whatever happens, the record shows Nienstedt failed to take action against the priest as recently as 2012, possibly violating church policies.
“This move will give hope to some. But hope doesn’t safeguard kids. Punishing men who endanger kids safeguards kids.”
David Clohessy, director of SNAP