Summary of the Presentations at the Meeting for “The Protection of Minors in the Church”
In a summit that began with listening to the survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, the presidents of bishops’ conference focused on three areas of concern: Responsibility, Accountability and Transparency. Three speakers presented commentary on one of the concerns each day. The bishops then gathered in small groups for discussion following each presentation.
Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle of Manila stressed the importance of taking Responsibility for the bishops’ role in the scandal on the first day: “Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, even to the point of rejecting them, and in covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution, has injured our people, leaving a deep wound in our relationship with those we are sent to serve.” Also addressing the assembly regarding Responsibility on day one were Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez of Bogota.
On the second day, Cardinal Blasé Cupich of Chicago addressed the role Accountability has in responding to sexual abuse by clergy and presented, “procedures that equip a synodal church to hold bishops involved in misconduct and mishandling accountable.” Cardinal Cupich also offered a strong argument for “The involvement of lay experts to assist from this point forward is for the good of the process and the value of transparency.” Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay and Dr. Linda Ghisoni, Undersecretary of the
Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life also offered commentary on the importance of Accountability.
On the final day of presentations, three speakers offered varied perspectives on the importance of Transparency. Sr. Veronica Openibo, SHCJ of Nigeria, the first woman religious to address a bishops’ gathering, offered ideas for a way forward after asking the bishops, “Why did we keep silent for so long?” Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Germany revealed that the Church has destroyed documents in the past and concluded, “It is not transparency which damages the church, but rather the acts of abuse committed, the lack of transparency or the ensuing cover-up.” Dr. Valentina Alazraki, Mexican journalist and correspondent for Noticieros Televisa at the Vatican since 1974, challenged the bishops to“report things when you know them. .. . It is the only way, if you want us to believe you when you say, ‘From now on we will no longer tolerate cover-ups.’”
The three days of presentations and discussion concluded with a Penitential Liturgy on Saturday evening and a Eucharistic Concelebration with Pope Francis on Sunday. At the end of Mass, Francis presented guidelines for moving forward for the bishops, concluding, “From today, the church’s aim will thus be to hear, watch over, protect and care for abused, exploited and forgotten children, wherever they are.”
Excerpts from Cardinal DiNardo’s statement at close of meeting
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, opened his statement on the final day of the meeting of the Presidents of Bishop’s Conferences from around the world, Feb. 21-24, with this conclusion:
“We owe survivors an unyielding vigilance that we may never fail them again.
“The witness of survivors revealed for us, again, the deep wound in the Body of Christ. How then to bind the wounds? Intensify the Dallas Charter. Pope Francis called us to ‘concrete and effective measures.’ A range of presenters spoke about a code of conduct for bishops, the need to establish specific protocols for handling accusations against bishops, user-friendly reporting mechanisms, and the essential role transparency must play in the healing process.
“Achieving these goals will require the active involvement and collaboration of the laity. The Church needs their prayers, expertise, and ideas. All of the models discussed this week rely upon the good help of God’s people.
“I and the bishops of the United States will prepare to advance proposals, in communion with the Holy See, in each of these areas so that my brother bishops can consider them at our June General Assembly.
“There is an urgency in the voice of the survivors to which we must always respond.”
Excerpts from Pope Francis’ closing remarks
In the closing Eucharistic Concelebration that concluded the Meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church” on Feb, 24, Pope Francis issued “a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas, on the part of all authorities and individuals, for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth.”
After citing statistics on sexual abuse of minors that he called “a universal problem, tragically present almost everywhere,” Pope Francis challenged the bishops to an honest and repentant assessment of the Church’s situation: “The brutality of this worldwide phenomenon becomes all the more grave and scandalous in the Church, for it is utterly incompatible with her moral authority and ethical credibility.”
Following four days that began with listening to survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, Pope Francis called the 190 church leaders to transparency and action. “Here again I would state clearly: if in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness.”
The pope presented a list of guidelines for use by the bishops in developing legislation to prevent and respond to abuse both within the Church and society. Included in the eight aspects, he reaffirmed “the need for bishops to be united in the application of parameters that serve as rules, not simply indications.” He then went on to emphasize: “Rules, not simply indications. No abuse should ever be covered up (as was often the case in the past) or not taken sufficiently seriously, since the covering up of abuses favors the spread of evil and adds a further level of scandal.”
“In people’s justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons. The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding in them fathers and spiritual guides, encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power. It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry,” he said.
He continued: “The Church’s aim will thus be to hear, watch over, protect and care for abused, exploited and forgotten children, wherever they are.”
In a press briefing on the final day of the summit, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, who moderated the gathering, announced that Pope Francis will release a new set of laws and guidelines on the protection of children for the Vatican City State in the near future, and a handbook that “will help bishops around the world clearly understand their duties and tasks” with regard to abuse.
Guidelines to fight abuse
Building upon the World Health Organization’s “Seven Strategies for Ending Violence against Children,” Pope Francis identified eight areas to guide the Church in developing her legislation for the fight against abuse to “turn this evil into an opportunity for purification.” Below are excerpts from the guidelines.
- The protection of children. “The primary goal of every measure must be to protect the little ones. A change of mentality is needed to combat a defensive and reactive approach to protecting the institution and to pursue the good of the community by giving priority to the victims of abuse in every sense.”
- Impeccable seriousness. “The Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes. The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case.”
- Genuine purification. “The Church thus restates ‘her firm resolve to pursue unstintingly a path of purification, questioning how best to protect children, to avoid these tragedies, to bring healing and restoration to the victims, and to improve the training imparted in seminaries. An effort will be made to make past mistakes opportunities for eliminating this scourge.’”
- Formation. “Requiring criteria for the selection and training of candidates to the priesthood that are not simply negative, concerned above all with excluding problematic personalities, but also positive, providing a balanced process of formation for suitable candidates, fostering holiness and the virtue of chastity.”
- Strengthening and reviewing guidelines by Episcopal Conferences. “Reaffirming the need for bishops to be united in the application of parameters that serve as rules and not simply indications. Rules, not simply indications. No abuse should ever be covered up (as was often the case in the past) or not taken sufficiently seriously, since the covering up of abuses favours the spread of evil and adds a further level of scandal. Also and in particular, developing new and effective approaches for prevention in all institutions and in every sphere of ecclesial activity.”
- Accompaniment of those who have been abused. The Church has the duty to provide them with all the support they need, by availing herself of experts in this field. Listening heals the hurting person, and likewise heals us of our egoism, aloofness and lack of concern.”
- The digital world. “Seminarians, priests, men and women religious, pastoral agents, indeed everyone, must be aware that the digital world and the use of its devices often has a deeper effect than we may think. There is a need to encourage countries and authorities to apply every measure needed to contain those websites that threaten human dignity, the dignity of women and particularly that of children.”
- Sexual tourism. “Combatting sexual tourism demands that it be outlawed, but also that the victims of this criminal phenomenon be given support and helped to be reinserted in society.”
Quotations
Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Archbishop of Manila
“We humbly and sorrowfully admit that wounds have been inflicted by us, the bishops, on the victims, and in fact, on the entire Body of Christ.”
“Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, even to the point of rejecting them, and in covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution, has injured our people, leaving a deep wound in our relationship with those we are sent to serve.”
“We need to put aside any hesitation to draw close to the wounds of our people out of fear of being wounded ourselves. Our people need us to draw close to their wounds and acknowledge our faults if we are to give authentic and credible witness to our faith in the Resurrection.”
”If we are to serve the victims and all those wounded by the crisis, we need to take seriously their wound of resentment and pain and the need for healing.”
Cardinal Blasé Cupich of Chicago
“We must move to establish robust laws and structures regarding the accountability of bishops precisely to supply with a new soul the institutional reality of the Church’s discipline of sexual abuse.”
“The involvement of lay experts to assist from this point forward is for the good of the process and the value of transparency.”
Sister Veronica Openibo, Society of the Holy Child Jesus, Nigeria
“The Church needs to update and create new systems and practices that will promote action without fear of making mistakes. Clerical sex abuse is a crisis that has reduced the credibility of the Church when transparency should be the hallmark of mission as followers of Jesus Christ.”
“Have we forgotten the reminder by Vatican II in Gaudium et Spes of the universal call to holiness? We need to ask responsible and sensitive lay people and women religious to give true and honest evaluation of candidates for episcopal appointments.”
“Let us not hide such events anymore because of the fear of making mistakes. The Church’s credibility is at stake.”
“I hope and pray that at the end of this conference we will choose deliberately to break any culture of silence and secrecy among us, to allow more light into our Church, as a model Church.”
“We proclaim the Ten Commandments and ‘parade ourselves’ as being the custodians of moral standards/values and good behaviour in society. Hypocrites at times? Yes! Why did we keep silent for so long?”
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“Achieving these goals will require the active involvement and collaboration of the laity. The Church needs their prayers, expertise, and ideas. All of the models discussed this week rely upon the good help of God’s people.
“I and the bishops of the United States will prepare to advance proposals, in communion with the Holy See, in each of these areas so that my brother bishops can consider them at our June General Assembly.
“There is an urgency in the voice of the survivors to which we must always respond.”