The fight against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was taken up by Pope Francis as one of his struggles in this 10-year pontificate, which led him to convene a summit in February 2019 at the Vatican.
Before the leaders of episcopal conferences around the world and those responsible for religious institutions, Francis presented steps for the fight against child abuse in the Catholic Church, arguing that the time has come to “give unified guidelines to the Church”.
He also said the church “will not tire of doing whatever it takes” to bring to justice anyone who has committed any form of sexual abuse.
“No abuse should ever be glossed over and underestimated, as the coverage of abuse promotes the spread of evil and raises the level of scandal,” he told the 190 representatives of the religious hierarchy and 114 presidents or vice presidents of bishops’ conferences. in Rome.
The news, around the world, has been punctuated by cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, with the United States, Ireland, France, Germany, Chile or Australia setting the scene for the need for swift action by the Vatican.
The “zero tolerance” policy was regularly voiced by Francis, who said in a letter in August 2019 that he was “determined” for the fight against abuse in the church.
“Lately we have been able to hear more clearly the cry, so often hushed and silenced, of our brothers, victims of the abuse of power, conscience and sexuality by ordained ministers,” the pope wrote.
“We are determined to implement the necessary reforms to promote from the roots a culture based on pastoral care, so that the culture of abuse is not given room to develop, much less to perpetuate itself”Francis added.
Faced with this design by the Argentine pope, and although in some cases against their will, many bishops’ conferences have put in place mechanisms to investigate situations of abuse in certain periods.
This is how the news of thousands of cases has been identified (or extrapolated in some cases) by various investigative committees set up in different countries.
The “earthquake”, which had started in Ireland and the United States or Australia, hit the heart of Europe with a roar, when it was revealed in France that more than 300,000 minors had been abused and assaulted in French Catholic Church institutions, 216,000 from who by clergy and religious, between 1950 and 2020, according to a report by the Independent Commission on Church Abuse in that country.
“It is a moment of shame,” said the pope, given the figures listed in that report, expressing his “sorrow and (…) pain” towards the victims.
Already before, Francis, faced with situations in which cases of abuse in the Church were covered up, had defended that “no priority can be given to considerations of any kind, such as, for example, the desire to avoid scandals, because there is no place in the ministry of the Church for those who abuse minors”.
“The crimes, the sins of sexual abuse of minors [cometidos por membros da Igreja] can no longer be kept secret,” the pope defended in 2015, adding: “We can’t hide it [atos de padres pedófilos e] of those who are guilty, including some bishops”.
As early as 2022, in an interview with the Portuguese journalist Maria João Avillez, Francis was clear: “the abuse of men and women of the Church – abuse of authority, abuse of power and sexual abuse – is a monstrosity”.
“I do not deny the abuse – even if it was only one, it is monstrous, because the priest and the nun must lead the boy and girl to God, and if they abuse, they ruin their lives. It is monstrous, it is destroying lives,” the pope added in that interview.
An important step in the fight against abuse was taken by the Pope in May 2019, when through the document “Vos estis lux mundi” (You are the light of the world) he established the establishment, by all dioceses, of a system accessible to those who wish to make a complaint, as well as full protection and assistance to whistleblowers.
On the other hand, the obligation of priests and religious was enshrined to report suspicions of sexual abuse in the church, as well as any cover-up by the hierarchy.
Earlier this month, the pope remembered the victims of abuse in the church and spoke of a “tragedy” that no one should ignore or devalue.
“The Church cannot try to hide the tragedy of abuse, whatever it may be. Not even when abuse takes place in families, clubs or other types of institutions. The Church must be an example to help resolve them by making them known in society and in families,” he referenced in the March monthly edition of “The Pope’s Video.”
Francis also defended that, when abused, “it is not enough to ask for forgiveness”, adding that the Church must “provide safe spaces to listen to the victims, guide them psychologically and protect them”.
The most recent case of the publication of a report on situations of sexual abuse in the Church is the Portuguese, where the Independent Commission headed by the child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht validated 512 of the 564 testimonies received in the year 2022, referring to the period since 1950, which allowed extrapolation to a minimum of 4,815 victims.
Source: DN
