ROME
La Croix
Sexual abuse victim Marie Collins has resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. CDF prefect, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has contested her accusations.
Nicolas Senèze, Rome
Why did Collins resign?
“In the face of obstacles, she felt that the only solution was to shake things up and resign,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, in the Corriere Della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper.
In fact, the Commission, an advisory committee to the Pope, does not have any direct authority over the dicasteries of the Curia.
The Commission has to count on their collaboration and cannot verify the implementation of its recommendations. Furthermore, it does not have its own budget or actual personnel.
What was the nature of the Curia’s resistance?
The role of the Commission is to “create a climate of the protection of children in the Church”, affirms Cardinal Parolin. However, there are problems with the demarcation of powers between the Commission and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which is directly responsible for dealing with cases of sexual abuse.
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