ENGLAND
Catholic Herald
December 13, 2017
By David V Barrett
Peter Saunders said he was ‘disappointed that the commission didn’t do what I thought it was set up to achieve’
Sexual abuse survivor Peter Saunders has resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, set up by Pope Francis to make recommendations on the Church’s role in child protection.
“I’m disappointed that the commission didn’t do what I thought it was set up to achieve,” Mr Saunders told The Tablet. “And there is still a huge amount of work that needs to be done.”
The commission only has an advisory role and does not comment on current cases of abuse.
“There was a bit of a misunderstanding about the commission’s role,” said Mr Saunders, who wanted it to have a more active role. “But I thought the Pope was serious about kicking backsides and holding people to account. I believe the Church deserves better on this.”
Mr Saunders was given “leave of absence” from the commission in February 2016 following friction with other members.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.