VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Register
by EDWARD PENTIN 02/10/2016
VATICAN CITY — Members of a pontifical commission are asking Pope Francis to remind all Church authorities of the importance of responding directly to abuse victims who approach them.
The recommendation was just one of a series of proposals drawn up at the end of a weeklong plenary meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a body Pope Francis set up in in 2014 to propose initiatives to protect children from clerical abuse.
But media coverage of the meeting has focused on another, unexpected development: The commission’s announcement of the suspension of controversial commission member Peter Saunders.
Other plans put forward during the plenary included more transparency around canonical trials with the participation of external collaborators, the finalization of a Universal Day of Prayer and a penitential liturgy, and a new website to share best practices for the protection of minors worldwide.
In a Feb. 8 statement, the commission also reported on its work over the past year, saying its members are “actively in contact” with bishops’ conferences, and had presented measures on safeguarding minors to religious conferences and congregations.
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