The pope’s safeguarding commission, preparing to move into a fresco-ceilinged palace in Rome’s historic center, must not be merely engaged in “PR,” but become a refuge for those abused by clergy and silenced by the church, said leading safeguarding expert Jesuit Fr. Hans Zollner.

Speaking to journalists April 17 about his decision to leave the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Zollner expressed his hope that the commission’s new home will push the commission to take seriously the principles of “transparency, compliance and responsibility,” the lack of which he cited as the reason for his departure.

The new center must be “a central focus point of encounters with victims from around the globe,” he said. “This is what people are looking for.”

After nearly 10 years of serving on the pope’s advisory body, Zollner said that “it is a continuous impression on the part…