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…