UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Tom Roberts | Dec. 10, 2013
A Catholic group dedicated to reporting sexual abuse within the church has proposed that three prominent activists from the United States be appointed to the new Vatican commission being formed to deal with the crisis.
Catholic Whistleblowers, a network of clergy and sisters committed to reporting and monitoring abuse cases in the church, made the recommendations in a letter to Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, a member of the Council of Cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to help him in reforming the curia and in the worldwide governance of the church.
O’Malley announced Dec. 5, during the most recent meeting of the council, that Francis had ordered the creation of a new commission, to be part of the church’s central bureaucracy, to deal with the issue of sex abuse in the church. The cardinal said few specifics had been established, but that the commission would deal with protection of children and pastoral care of victims and would comprise experts from around the world, including priests, sisters and lay people.
The Whistleblower group, founded by Fr. James Connell, a retired Milwaukee priest who is a canon lawyer and former vice chancellor for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, proposed Notre Dame de Namur Sr. Maureen Turlish, Dominican Fr. Thomas Doyle and Dr. Robert M. Hoatson for membership on the commission.
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