VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) — The Catholic Church’s efforts to prevent clerical sexual abuse and protect children around the world will be “a long-term effort,” said Father Robert W. Oliver, a Boston priest who began work Feb. 1 as the promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.
“All of us — every single person has difficulty coming to understand what this really is and how prevalent it is in our societies across the world,” said Father Oliver, whose position includes monitoring and investigating cases of priests accused of sex abuse.
When one first hears of a case of abuse, he said, “every single one of us begins with denial,” which is why the entire church, at all levels, must make a concerted effort to educate its members about the reality of abuse and the best practices for protecting children.
Speaking at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University Feb. 5, Father Oliver said the conference that the university and several Vatican offices sponsored last year for bishops and for superiors of religious orders was an important step forward, as is the pilot project for an online prevention and child protection course being run by the Gregorian-based Center for Child Protection.
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