Pope meets Child Protection Commission - after high-profile resignations

For the first time since its restructuring, the Pope met with his Child Protection Commission. He praised the commitment of the members. They should not let up. But behind the scenes of the body, things are bubbling.

Pope Francis met with the child protection commission he set up on Friday. It was the first audience since the body was restructured last year. At the same time, it was the first meeting after the resignation of the German child protection expert and Jesuit Hans Zollner a good month ago.

In his speech, Francis called on the remaining commission members to lead the way in protecting affected persons and to pave the way for reparation and a sensitive approach to victims of abuse. The protection of minors and vulnerable persons must be a priority for all Church workers, he said. In this context, the Pope emphasised the role of church ministers and their function as role models. At the same time, he admitted that there had been failures in dealing with abuse. It was time to repair the damage that had been done, Francis demanded. Today, no one could honestly claim not to be affected by the reality of sexual abuse in the Church.

Pope's decree tightened

Another topic of discussion were the measures already taken since the founding of the Child Protection Commission ten years ago. These include the Pope's decree "Vos estis lux mundi" ("You are the light of the world"), which was recently confirmed and tightened. The corresponding guidelines regulate how to proceed in cases of suspected abuse and who is responsible for what and when.

The papal commission is to monitor compliance with the new and stricter Vatican guidelines on child protection and advise national bishops' conferences on their implementation. Especially in the global South, adequate structures for the protection against abuse are to be created. This is an expansion of the field of tasks that went hand in hand with the restructuring of the body in 2022. Previously, the commission was mainly responsible for the care of those affected by abuse, the creation of guidelines for prevention and the training of church personnel.

At the end of March, Jesuit Hans Zollner withdrew from the Pontifical Commission for Child Protection. He cited "structural and practical problems" as reasons.

For the more comprehensive field of tasks, Francis had increased the number of members of the commission, which was founded in 2014. In return, he demands an annual report on the implementation and progress of the church's efforts in the fight against sexual abuse. He also recalled this report in his speech.

According to its own information, the Child Protection Commission is currently still discussing the methodology and content of the report at its plenary meeting in Rome. The secretary of the commission, Andrew Small, expects the report to be published in 2024. At the current meeting of the commission, which will last until Saturday, there will also be a discussion on working methods, roles and responsibilities.

Zollner criticises various points

Points that Jesuit Father Hans Zollner recently sharply criticised. The head of the Institute for Protection against Abuse at the Pontifical Gregorian University recently left the committee. He cited insufficient acceptance of responsibility and lack of transparency as reasons. For example, the selection criteria for the commission members as well as their exact roles and tasks were unclear. The problems in the commission did not begin with its assignment to the faith-based authority, but they have worsened. Since then, there has been a lack of competence in the important area of canon law. He also found the financial accountability of the body insufficient. The head of the Commission, O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, rejected Zollner's criticism. A former member and a child rights expert reacted differently in a letter to the Pope.

The collapse of Father Zollner's trust in the Commission is "very worrying", the letter published by the Irish Times newspaper says. In it, former Irish president and child rights expert Mary McAleese and abuse victim Marie Collins warn of attempts by high-ranking church officials to "discredit Father Zollner". Collins had left the commission herself in 2017. With Zollner's withdrawal, the reputation of the commission will be existentially damaged, the two women say. They are now calling for an independent, external review of the body. A decade after its foundation, Francis must intervene again, they conclude. 

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