Pope Francis meets members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors at the Vatican, April 29, 2022. / Vatican Media.Even if there may be resistance or backlash in some locations, Pope Francis has stated that the Catholic Church would continue to take action against clerical sexual abuse.
The pope stated that although there was “opposition, there is growing realization that this is the way to go with each new step” in remarks to Reuters that were published on Friday.
The Church “began zero tolerance gently and progressed forward,” according to Pope Francis. Additionally, I believe that the course taken on this is irreversible.
The 85-year-old remarked of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in remarks to Reuters on July 2 that “I absolutely support the commission.”
This organization, founded by Pope Francis in 2014, is “established within the dicastery” formerly known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to the new Vatican constitution.
According to Reuters, both its secretary, Father Andrew Small, and its president, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, received praise from Pope Francis.
Late in April 2022, the pope requested that the commission create an annual report on the efforts made by the Catholic Church worldwide to protect children and frail adults.
Francis emphasized that “abuse in any form is wrong” during a speech at the occasion.
As stated in the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi, the pope has also asked the commission to support bishops’ conferences in creating centers where victims of abuse can find “welcome and an attentive hearing, and be accompanied in a process of healing and justice.”
Following the Vatican’s abuse summit in 2019, which took place in the wake of the Theodore McCarrick crisis, the pope made the proclamation Vos estis lux mundi, which means “You are the light of the world.”
A canonical strategy to deal with the investigation of bishops accused of sexual abuse or coercion, or of interfering with such investigations, was outlined in the Act.