Australian Appointed to Vatican Panel for Protecting Minors

ABC
December 18, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2014/s4151610.htm

DAVID MARK: The Vatican has appointed an Australian social welfare worker with expertise in family and disability services and child protection to the Vatican's Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The appointment comes one year after Pope Francis set up the special panel to examine the Catholic Church's child protection policies and improve its response to victims of child sexual abuse.

Kathleen McCormack, from Wollongong, is the former director of Catholic Care and among eight new members of the 17-person panel.

She's speaking here to PM's Emily Bourke about the panel and how she hopes to influence its work.

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: It's really about particularly ensuring best practice and education, formation and training programs to respond to the prevention of abuse of minors.

EMILY BOURKE: It's been 12 months since this commission was established, how do you think it's been working so far and how do you think the church has changed, if at all, the way it's handling the issue of child protection?

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: What's been encouraging to me is the Holy Father wants to reach out to all areas of the globe and to have, because some countries have got better practices than others, and he wants to make sure there's a mutual sharing and that people are really about no longer a culture of silence, it's about the protection of children.

EMILY BOURKE: Do you think he's listening to the voices from around the world, voices of reform?

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: I think just the number of people on this committee and the fact that he's prepared to do it, it's never happened before. I think he's stepped out of his comfort zone and is prepared to do it.

I think with our experience with the royal commission here in Australia, as hard as it has been, it's been one of the best things that's ever happened for survivors.

EMILY BOURKE: But do you think the institution, the Vatican, and all of its cardinals, have an ear for listening to what's coming out of the likes of the royal commission and I suppose movement for reform?

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: I think, I think that's true in the fact that this is where the Holy Father sometimes, probably hasn't known of some of the things, but now he's initiated this from the top and is making sure that he does get all the information coming up.

I think they have to start listening. I mean, it's out there, it's no longer a secret. People have to stand up and take notice and people aren't going to put up with it.

EMILY BOURKE: Given your expertise and your experience in child protection and in other social welfare areas, how do you hope to influence the work of this commission?

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: I would hope to influence that the thing is that when you work with a survivor of abuse, the first thing you do is when they have the courage to speak out you believe them. And I think that's where we have to start, if we believe this happened and we've got to make sure it doesn't, it continues, we have best practice in place for the future. Because I think that's been part of the isolation of it. They were not believed.

EMILY BOURKE: Many victims groups have been sceptical, cynical even of this Vatican established panel. Do you take their criticism onboard? They believe it's window dressing, a hollow gesture, empty rhetoric. How do you overcome that kind of criticism and scepticism?

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: Well I suppose it's, I think the proof will be in what's produced and I think just the nature of some of the people on this committee and their background experience, I don't think that they'd be one to be pushed over.

So I can really understand people being sceptical, I think they've got a right to be because of how things have been done in the past. But I think it's the future we've got to look to.

I wouldn't do it if I thought it was window dressing. I haven't got the time to put to something that's not going to be really worthwhile.

It's rather daunting but I really believe that with a group of people who are able to speak out and make sure that policies and procedures are in place for the future, that's what, that's a start.

EMILY BOURKE: And what about the rigour of child protection policies, are you just turning your mind to what's, to the Australian context or are you looking at what's happening elsewhere?

KATHLEEN MCCORMACK: What's happening elsewhere and the other thing too is, in the diocese that I come from, we had a very bad time in the mid '90s, so we have been very rigorous in our policies and procedures, and we've got things in place. But they've got to be - once the policy's written you've got to start again the next day, you've got to keep at it and at it and at it.

DAVID MARK: Kathleen McCormack, who's just been appointed to the Vatican's Commission for the Protection of Minors. She was speaking to Emily Bourke.