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MEMBERS OF THE Catholic faith have been rocked around the world by the news today of the death of Pope Francis. The 88-year-old passed away this morning after a weeks-long battle with illness. He had spent some time in the hospital but had been discharged and rallied in recent days, attending Easter Mass yesterday.
Pope Francis has been remembered by so many today, those who have paid tribute to him and the efforts he made as Pope to improve the Church. Many have acknowledged that he has been more progressive than his predecessors in recognising the abuse of children by the Catholic Church.
After becoming head of the Church in March 2013, Francis took numerous measures to tackle clerical abuse, from opening up internal Church documents to punishing high-ranking clergy, while making it compulsory to report suspicions of sexual assault to Church authorities.
In 2019, he promised an “all-out battle” against abuse, and compared child sex abuse to human sacrifice.
But clergy are still not required to report abuse to civil authorities, unless the laws of that country require it, while any revelations made in confession remain private
In December 2014, Francis established the Commission, consisting of an independent panel of experts, amid pressure for more action to tackle the issue.
In 2022, Francis asked for an annual and “reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change”.
He added that he wants a “commitment to conversion away from evil and to healing the wounded”.
The Commission was then incorporated into the Roman Curia, the government of the Holy See which assists the pope in the day-to-day exercise of his role as the leader of the Catholic Church.
In April 2022, Francis called for the annual reports to have a particular focus on the care of survivors of abuse.
He told the Commission: “I urge you to assist in establishing suitable centres where individuals who have experienced abuse can find acceptance and an attentive hearing, and be accompanied in a process of healing and justice.”
The first annual report on protecting minors in the Church, which was published last year, called for the Church to “study damages and compensation policies to promote a rigorous approach to reparations, as part of the Church’s commitment to the healing journey of victims and survivors”.
Colm O’Gorman has campaigned for accountability for clerical child sexual for more than 30 years. He is the founder and former director of One in Four, and the former executive director of Amnesty International Ireland.
He told The Journal that he has “great admiration” for a lot of what Pope Francis has done in his life, as well as what he sought to do in the papacy.
“He’s focused on a more inclusive, compassionate, responsive Church, which has been really inspiring,” he said, citing a move away from the stigmatising language that the Vatican has used in the past around LGBTQ+ people.
“His obvious compassion and desire to first of all, respond to people as human beings and to see the dignity and the fundamental goodness in all people, I think, is just very inspiring and very welcome.”
But on the issue of clerical child sex abuse, O’Gorman thinks Francis has been “quite disappointing”.
He hasn’t shown the same courage and tenacity as he has in other areas, and I think that’s a real shame.
O’Gorman said he was “enormously disappointed” when Francis visited Ireland in August 2018. “There were very real efforts on the part of the Vatican to push aside the whole abuse issue.”
In the weeks before the visit, the Vatican said that while the pontiff would address the subject of abuse within the Catholic Church, it was not the “major subject” of his visit.
“It seemed just the most extraordinarily crass, insensitive, stupid thing to do for a pope who was coming to Ireland, where we’ve been devastated by these issues for the last 30 or 40 years,” O’Gorman said.
During his speech in the Phoenix Park, the pope’s unscripted remarks went further than previous comments on abuses by the Catholic Church. Speaking in Spanish, he asked forgiveness “for the abuse in Ireland. Abuses of power, conscience and sexual abuse perpetrated by members with roles of responsibility in the Church.”
O’Gorman, who led a demonstration in Dublin to mark the upset that many feel towards the Catholic Church in Ireland while Francis was speaking during the 2018 visit, said the one thing that he did not do in his remarks is apologise.
“The one thing that I’ve been looking for for 30 years from any Pope or from the Vatican at any level, is just the truth. Just a frank, open acknowledgement of responsibility for directing a cover up of these crimes at the global level, for seeking to protect the institution, its assets, its authority and its power ahead of all things,” he said.
“It’s never been acknowledged. Ever. And sadly, Pope Francis, who I think could have really turned the tide on that, didn’t, and I think that’s a real shame.”
Despite this, O’Gorman said he has “enormous respect” for Francis. He said it has been “odd” watching the coverage of his stay in hospital and battle with illness.
“On a very human level, I think he’s a man who, from what I can see, always tried to do the right thing. The world is a better place for him having been in it, and there’s no question about that.
“People are grieving now. There’s an awful lot of people who have enormous affection for Pope Francis, and I understand why, and I feel sad for them. I feel for people who are feeling the sadness of his passing.
“An 88-year-old man has been struggling, obviously, in very challenging circumstances, and that’s the thing that’s been on my mind, not any of this.
If we’re honest about about his legacy, he’s done some extraordinary things in terms of speaking for compassion, for love, for inclusivity. That’s been remarkable.
“But on the abuse issue, I’m afraid he didn’t go anywhere near as far towards acknowledging the truth as I would have hoped for, certainly, and that’s a disappointment.”
The election process will now get underway to select the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
O’Gorman believes that whoever is chosen to be the next Pope must simply tell the truth when it comes to the abuse of children within the Church and the subsequent cover-up that ensued.
“We’ve never had anybody at the Vatican who’s simply told the truth. And the truth is well established. This is not a matter of opinion. This is established fact. The cover up of these crimes, driven and directed by the Vatican at a law and policy level,” he said.
“The first thing that any Pope should do is tell the truth. Apologise for the Vatican’s direction in the cover up of these crimes going back, not just many decades, but a number of centuries.”
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