Demands in Germany and US that "Tucho" Fernandez not be made Cardinal and sacked after his mishandling of three abuse cases

Francis should not promote him to Cardinal on Saturday as planned

Those affected by abuse: Pope should remove Faith Prefect Fernandez

“Archbishop Fernandez has to go! They have to remove him from this position,” those affected by abuse demand from Pope Francis. They presented three cases in which the new religious prefect did not act appropriately.

Those affected by abuse have called on Pope Francis to remove the new Vatican Prefect for the Faith, Victor Fernandez. "Archbishop Fernandez has to go! They have to remove him from this position," said Peter Isley of the US initiative SNAP on Thursday in Rome.

In front of Castel Sant'Angelo, not far from the Vatican, he and around 20 other representatives of affected people's organizations demonstrated against the new prefect of the Dicastery of Faith. They presented three cases of alleged abuse by priests in Argentina. Fernandez, then archbishop of La Plata, did not respond appropriately to these cases as the responsible superior, the speakers said. The Pope was therefore not allowed to make him a cardinal on Saturday as planned.

Since mid-September, Argentine Fernandez has been head of the Dicastery of Faith, which is also responsible for prosecuting perpetrators of abuse. On Saturday the Pope wants to make him a Cardinal along with 20 other priests in the Vatican. The work phase of the World Synod begins on Wednesday: For almost the entire month of October, around 450 participants - including Fernandez - will discuss new forms of consultation and more participation in the church. Among other things, it will be about hierarchies, the appreciation of women and the treatment of sexual minorities.

Katsch: The topic of abuse must be a topic at the synod

The spokesman for the German Eckiger Tisch initiative, Matthias Katsch, expects that the topic of abuse will also play a role at the world synod. Female ordination and celibacy are a matter within the church, he told the Catholic News Agency (KNA). "But whether children are protected or not is not a matter within the church." The topic has an urgency that is missing from many church representatives - including Francis.

He called on the Pope to implement guidelines against abuse and to open case files that Dioceses have sent to religious authorities for processing. “We assume that several thousand cases of abuse are stored here in Rome and these files must be made accessible – to those affected, but above all to independent investigators,” said Katsch.

Source

Background on his scandalously bad handling of abuse cases