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POPE FRANCIS IS assembling a panel of experts to advise him on sex abuse in the clergy — a task that will involve looking at how to protect children from paedophiles, how to better screen men for the priesthood and how to help victims who have already been harmed.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, announced the creation of the commission today at the conclusion of a meeting between Francis and his eight cardinal advisers who are helping him govern the church and reform the Vatican bureaucracy.
Sex abuse
Boston was the epicenter of the 2002 clerical sexual abuse scandal in the US.
O’Malley told reporters that the commission, made up of international lay and religious experts on sex abuse, would study current programs to protect children, better screen priests, train church personnel and suggest new initiatives for both the Holy See to implement inside the Vatican City State and for bishops to implement around the world.
He said, to date, the Vatican’s involvement in the sex abuse crisis has been largely judicial in nature, with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2001 taking over church trials for priests accused of raping and molesting children.
Now, he said, Francis wants input for a pastoral response, as well.
Accountability
He said he didn’t know if the matter of bishop accountability would be undertaken by the new commission.
Advocates for victims of clerical abuse have long denounced the Vatican’s refusal to sanction bishops who shielded abusive priests and moved them from parish to parish rather than report them to police.
That practice, coupled with the church’s culture of secrecy and fear of scandal, enabled peadophiles to continue molesting children for decades while the Vatican turned a blind eye.
“Quite frankly that’s something that the church needs to address,” O’Malley said, when asked if the commission would take up the issue. “I’m not sure whether it will be this commission or the CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) or the Congregation for Bishops.”
Child protection
The commission was announced just days after the Vatican submitted its responses to a UN committee monitoring its implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Vatican dodged many of the committee’s questions about sex abuse by arguing that it’s up to bishops and dioceses to implement programs to protect children, not the Holy See.
Asked about the seeming contradiction, O’Malley said competence for such issues still lies with local church leaders.
“The Holy See will try and help to identify best practices,” he said. “Certainly we hope that the Holy See will be able to model what those best practices are as a way of helping other dioceses and bishops conferences to have a response that is truly adequate and pastoral.”
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Let it go….
@HearMeNow33: Are you mad? This will be wall to wall, for a few weeks.
@Tommy Berry: True. Can’t let a chance of some shinner bashing pass them by.
@Seán Óg: says the shinnerbot
@Denis Logan: How predictable of you.
When is the Gardaí report on Charlie Flanagan potential Covid-19 breaches at Colm Horkan funeral
@tirnanog1979: no comparison and you know it
@Jane: Both funerals broke the regulations Jane and you know it.
@tirnanog1979: that would be Detective Garda Colm Horkan.
@Seán Óg: SF could have sent representatives to Mr Storeys funeral as happened with Garda Horkans funeral and I don’t think anyone could have complained. Instead SF attended the funeral en masse, traveling from all over the country to do so and gathered in a graveyard to give a graveside oration where no burial was taking place.
@Jane: Nonsense, they were as bad as each other
@Jane: Both funerals had large crowds and poor social distancing. If you admonish SF for the Storey funeral then surely you must do the same for Garda Horkan’s funeral. Your disliking of SF seems to be clouding your judgement Jane.
@Seán Óg: but only one was attending in very large numbers by political party reps from all over the country. That’s the difference.
Why is it even when SF are obviously wrong no criticism is allowed?
Why do ye want to replace a crowd that dodge questions with another crowd that dodge questions?
@Jane: Critism is allowed Jane, but the obvious point you insist on ignoring, is that critism is selective and hypocritical. As was pointed out, you cant criticise one and not the other – but in your case, you did just that.
To me, both were wrong. It would seem, that to you, there is only political captital to be made from criticising one.
@tirnanog1979: It ill behooves Shinners to comment on any Garda’s funeral —–They were responsible for quite a few in their time and indeed have been known to give rapturous acclaim to certain Garda’s murderers.
@Angela McCarthy: and you are ignoring the involvement of a political party in only one of the funerals. A political party that was involved in the making of the rules for everyone else in that jurisdiction.
@Jane: A political party? dont you mean political parties, as more than one seems to be set on debating it. but not the other.
@Angela McCarthy: not sure what you mean by that Angela. Only one party is in bother over it because only one party attended en masse. Bringing a crowd to the graveyard unnecessarily was just ridiculous.
Everyone understands that Bobby Storey was an important figure in SF and as such no one would have batted an eyelid if some of the senior politicians in SF had attended as was done with Garda Horkans funeral.
@Jane: Where did I say no criticism is allowed? People attending both funerals broke government guidelines. So don’t cherry pick your outrage Jane. Call a spade a spade.
@Seán Óg: tell you what Sean you just continue to ignore what are the obvious differences between them as I’ve pointed out above. And continue to be outraged at all and any criticism leveled at SF.
@Jane: I have criticised SF over the attendance of Bobby’s funeral. Because it was wrong to stage a funeral with those numbers in attendance. But you ignore the fact that large numbers attended the Garda’s funeral, including some politicians. Same rules for everyone Jane.
One rule for that crowd, Sur they are the “law” 8 cremations the same day and no one allowed .
@Ger Murray: who’s that crowd ?.
@Airwave81: The uniformed woman and men that lined the streets
Clear the decks, Nolan show can’t wait to ramp up the whole funeral again, rest in peace Big Bobby, a giant among men.
now could they start investigating collusion with he uvf
The usual crowd talking about people in uniforms blah, blah, blah. What I saw were people in ordinary clothes coming out to see a true republican being laid yo rest, with a quarter of a million watching online which Sinn Féin Féin set up. The PSNI have already stated that there were no problems with it. Establishmemt supporters again trying to take away from their parties failure. No bank bailout? Ha ha
Just ticking a box… Nothing will happen
have your say