ROME
The New York Times
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO and LAURIE GOODSTEINFEB. 6, 2016
ROME — A high-profile Vatican commission on the prevention of child sexual abuse voted on Saturday to temporarily suspend one of its members, an outspoken victim of clerical abuse who accused the church of failing to deliver on its promises of reform and accountability.
But the suspended commission member, Peter Saunders, said at a news conference in Rome on Saturday evening that he would stand his ground.
“I have not left, and am not leaving my position on the commission,” Mr. Saunders said. “I was appointed by His Holiness Pope Francis, and I will talk only with him about my position.”
The public blowup could undermine confidence in Francis’ efforts to rebuild the Roman Catholic Church’s credibility on the child abuse issue. When the 17-member commission was created by Francis in his first year as pope, many victims and their advocates hoped that the presence on the panel of Mr. Saunders and another victim would spur the commission to act forcefully. But Mr. Saunders, who founded the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, in England, has complained that the commission has failed to produce tangible results. …
The church in Chile has been coping with an explosion of discontent ever since Francis proceeded with the appointment of Bishop Juan Barros to lead the diocese of Osorno. Bishop Barros was a close associate of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a Santiago priest whom the Vatican found guilty of sexual abuse in 2011.
Father Karadima’s victims say that Bishop Barros was aware of the abuse and failed to speak up, and then failed to support the victims years later when they stepped forward. But Francis was caught on video last year calling the people of Osorno “dumb” for protesting against Bishop Barros with what he said was no proof.
At the commission’s meeting on Saturday, its third since it was formed, Mr. Saunders asked to bring in one of Father Karadima’s victims, Juan Carlos Cruz, to speak to the members. Mr. Saunders said that he was refused, and that commission members told him they were frustrated with his speaking to the news media and advocating action on specific cases. Instead, the 16 members present voted “no confidence” in his membership, with 15 in favor and one abstention.
Mr. Cruz appeared with Mr. Saunders at the news conference in Rome and said the commission had become the “laughingstock of survivors.” Mr. Cruz had at one time been recommended for membership on the commission, but emails published by Chilean news outlets showed his participation was blocked by the Chilean church hierarchy.
“No matter what we do, we hit a brick wall with Francis, his commission and his cardinals,” said Mr. Cruz, who works in the United States.
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