ROME
The Tablet
February 20, 2018
By Christopher Lamb
Pope Francis has sought to wrestle back the initiative over his handling of clerical sexual abuse by renewing a papal child protection commission and revealing he regularly meets victims.
Last week the Vatican announced a re-booted Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a body that had been allowed to lapse after the initial three-year membership terms of the members expired at the end of last year.
This led some survivors to question whether the Pope had de-prioritised the issue while his dismissal of victims in the Bishop Juan Barros case – a Chilean prelate accused of turning a blind eye to abuse – has drawn heavy criticism.
But last Saturday the Pope announced a 16-member child protection commission including nine new members coming from six continents and which, according to the Vatican, included unnamed abuse survivors. The body, set up by Francis in 2014, is now looking to set up an “International Survivor Advisory Panel” modelled on the one set up by the Church in England and Wales.
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