UNITED STATES
Religion Dispatches
BY PATRICIA MILLER FEBRUARY 10, 2016
Pope Francis’ formation of a committee to advise him on long-term policies to stem clerical sexual abuse was hailed as a major step forward in the Catholic Church’s bungled handling of the abuse crisis. But an internal crisis within the committee—along with the glacial pace of any reforms—is raising questions about the credibility and effectiveness of the committee going forward.
Over the weekend, Peter Saunders, one of two actual survivors of sexual abuse serving on the committee, was booted off by a nearly unanimous vote of the other members. They asserted that the committee’s role is specifically advisory and limited to developing long-term policies to prevent abuse and that Saunders was upsetting the apple cart by advocating for more immediate action and intervention in specific cases.
What seems to have gotten Saunders in hot water is his continued opposition to Pope Francis’ appointment of Bishop Juan Barros to lead the diocese of Osorno, Chile, despite evidence that he covered up sexual abuse spanning two decades. Not only is Barros accused of covering up for Fr. Fernando Karadima, who was the Marcial Maciel of Chile, abusing a series of seminarians over the years with “a powerful cocktail of sexual guilt and secrecy” and using his “pious standing among the elite to conceal [his] depravity.” He was also “cited in the victims’ testimonies as having been present during sexual acts.”
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