This is a dangerous moment in the global struggle against clerical abuse. There is a growing perception that, after almost two decades of concerted effort, Rome is starting to backslide.
Is there any truth in this? Not if you rely solely on information from the Holy See press office. At the start of the year, the Vatican released a letter from Pope Francis to the world’s bishops. “I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst,” he wrote. Then the Pope named Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican department that has dealt with abuse cases since 2001. Shortly afterwards, Francis wrote the preface to a book by a Swiss abuse survivor.
Taken together, these gestures sent an unmistakable message: Rome is committed to completing the fight launched by Benedict XVI, who laicised an estimated 800 abusers during his eight-year papacy.
But beyond official Vatican statements there are troubling signs. Last month the Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi published a book claiming that the Pope has done “almost nothing” to root out abuse. Yet Fittipaldi is far from neutral: he was one of two journalists tried by the Vatican for his role in the “VatiLeaks II” scandal.
Consider, then, the words of Kathleen McCormack, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was created in 2014 to guide the global battle against abuse. She said last week that the commission was struggling to protect children. “Our budget would be what you would do in a diocese, but we’re dealing with the whole world,” she explained. According to AP, the commission’s two major initiatives – a tribunal for bishops suspected of mishandling abuse and a template to help dioceses create safeguarding policies – have been mothballed.
The commission itself has not been slacking. It has held eight plenary meetings in the past three years. Members have had more than 50 educational engagements in five continents in the past 12 months. Nevertheless, the commission appears to be facing obstruction.
Meanwhile, AP has confirmed rumours that, in a handful of cases, the Pope has overruled CDF advice that priests should be laicised, imposing a lesser punishment in the name of mercy. Now, there is genuine debate here: is it better for the Church to laicise abusive priests, effectively abandoning them, or to order them to live a life of prayer and penance in a place where they can be monitored? Even so, there is a widespread assumption that the priests who have benefited from the Pope’s mercy are those with powerful Vatican connections. The truth is hard to establish, but the perception alone is damaging.
Taking into account all the complexities of combating abuse in a body as varied as the Catholic Church, one is still left with the impression that Rome is wavering. Let’s hope that Cardinal O’Malley’s appointment will inspire the Vatican to show more resolve.
On his recent trip to the Anglican parish of All Saints in the Via del Babuino (the first of a pontiff to an Anglican church in Rome), the Pope spoke of the possibility of a joint trip to South Sudan with Archbishop Justin Welby, as well as representatives from the Presbyterian Church. This is highly significant for a number of reasons.
South Sudan is Africa’s newest country, having become independent only in 2011, when it finally broke away from Sudan after decades of conflict. Unfortunately, independence has not brought peace, and since 2013 the country has been wracked by civil war which has seen at least 300,000 deaths. South Sudan has enormous oil reserves but is one of the poorest countries on earth. As such, it is a poster child for African failure. That the Pope should be considering a visit is a sign of his wanting to promote peace and reconciliation and to help some of the most unfortunate people on earth.
That he should want to make this a joint enterprise with Archbishop Welby is a sign of his desire for practical ecumenism. In his homily at All Saints he spoke not of theological ecumenism, which is often fraught with difficulty, but of a more practical approach exemplified by common witness and common action. A trip to South Sudan with Archbishop Welby would certainly send a strong signal that the Catholic and Anglican communions were, in a certain sense, united in their mission. Such a trip would recall the Pope’s visit to Lesbos in the company of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. On that occasion the pictures told a story – two heads of Christian communions working and standing together – that perhaps goes further than any theological joint declaration.
While the prospective trip is to be welcomed, its symbolism should not mean that we neglect theological dialogue. Action springs from faith. Joint initiatives like this should lead us to re-examine the shared faith that impels us to take action in the first place.
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