Pope's Child Commission Could Suffer Due to Funding

RTE News
March 16, 2016

http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0316/775281-abuse-commission/

Marie Collins is the only female survivor of child clerical abuse to be appointed to the body

The child protection commission established by Pope Francis could be hindered because of funding shortages, according to its Irish member, Marie Collins.

The only female survivor of child clerical abuse to be appointed to the body told the Irish Catholic newspaper there is talk in commission circles about fundraising, but she personally opposes going down that route.

She told the newspaper the Catholic Church has been spending large sums of money on compensating victims of clerical abuse and the commission is trying to make sure nobody is abused in the future.

She said "it's very hard to get answers ... The funding we have from the Holy See is for the practical things like the administrative staffing of the office, travel to meetings and meeting costs.

"We don't have any clarity on where our funding comes from after that."

Speaking to RTE News, Ms Collins said "the commission does not have a budget ... The fact that this is still not clear is unacceptable."

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 and is regarded as one of the church's most important responses to decades of abuse and cover-up in the institution in many parts of the world.