Pope Francis has ordered the world’s bishops to co-operate fully with the Vatican’s new abuse commission which has been tasked with improving child protection procedures.
In a letter released this morning ahead of the commission’s first meeting, the Pope said that safeguarding children was the Church’s top priority, and was more important than preserving its reputation or avoiding scandal.
Diocesan bishops and major superiors are responsible for the safety of children and vulnerable adults in their parishes and institutions, he added, and said that parents must be assured that their children are protected.
“Families should also know that they have every right to turn to the Church with full confidence, for it is a safe and secure home. Consequently, priority must not be given to any other kind of concern, whatever its nature, such as the desire to avoid scandal, since there is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors,” he said in the letter, which is addressed to the presidents of bishops’ conferences and superiors of institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life.
He told church leaders to provide pastoral care for victims of abuse, including psychological assistance and spiritual care, and insisted they fully implement the provisions laid out in a 2011 letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which required dioceses to develop guidelines on abuse handling. However he did not mention whether dioceses should offer financial compensation.
“Pastors and those in charge of religious communities should be available to meet with victims and their loved ones; such meetings are valuable opportunities for listening to those have greatly suffered and for asking their forgiveness,” he added.
He revealed that he had been inspired to found the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors, which meets for the first time imminently, after a meeting with abuse survivors in July.
“This experience reaffirmed my conviction that everything possible must be done to rid the Church of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors and to open pathways of reconciliation and healing for those who were abused,” he said.
By Liz Dodd, The Tablet.