(ITALY)
Katholisch.de [Bonn, Germany]
October 26, 2025
By Severina Bartonitschek (KNA)
Critical Vatican, frustrated victims, absent journalists
Vatikanstadt/Rom – Pressure from the press, society and politics are decisive aspects in driving forward the reappraisal of abuse in a local church. In Italy, however, this is virtually non-existent. What’s more, the Vatican attests to cultural resistance.
“It does nothing, it does even less than the Vatican.” Francesco Zanardi sharply criticises Europe’s largest bishops’ conference, the Italian one. The Italian, who was himself a victim of abuse by a Catholic priest as a minor, has been campaigning for 15 years for this issue to be addressed. However, the process has been slow in his home country – despite or probably because of the presumably high number of cases of abuse.
With more than twice as many members and priests as in the Catholic Church in Germany, John Joseph Kennedy, head of the area for disciplinary issues in the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, considers it to be one of the most affected local churches in the world.
It was only in 2019 that the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) adopted guidelines on dealing with abuse, established a national specialist centre for child protection and began setting up regional reporting centres. Since then, the CEI has continuously expanded its prevention work. It has been publishing analyses of its national measures since 2022.
Study in progress
A study on clerical abuse is currently underway as a multidisciplinary research project. It examines known or suspected cases of abuse that were reported and processed in the individual dioceses between 2001 and 2021.
It is not only the Munich lawyer Ulrich Wastl, whose law firm has already conducted abuse studies for dioceses, who feels that this period is too short for a real reappraisal and clarification. In its latest report on the worldwide implementation of protective measures, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children welcomes the Italian investigation in principle. However, it also calls for more commitment in the usual diplomatic Vatican language: at the same time, the Commission recognises the need to deepen understanding of the phenomenon of abuse in the long term.
This is not the only thumbs down in the detailed report on the Catholic anti-abuse programme in Italy. It states that “considerable efforts have been invested in the development of tools and comprehensive guidelines for prevention and protection”. However, when answering the questionnaires, which the commission uses every five years to enquire about the current status of measures in the individual dioceses, there was clearly room for improvement. Only 81 of the 226 dioceses completed the questionnaire and sent it back to the Vatican. Meetings with some regional bishops’ conferences were also not possible.
Overall, the Pontifical Commission continued to criticise major differences in commitment between the various regions. For example, not all dioceses had stable centres for reporting abuse and/or for supporting those affected with sufficient human and financial resources. In addition, the Bishops’ Conference lacked a centralised office to receive reports and monitor the proper handling of cases.
Formal cooperation with civil authorities in responding to reports must be expanded, as must dialogue with those affected by abuse, their families and victims’ associations. Finally, the commission calls for more transparency and communication in dealing with suspected cases of abuse.
The reaction to the report was immediate. In a press statement, the Bishops’ Conference complained that it contained “by no means complete data”, which came from a voluntary meeting with the Commission during the Ad Limina visit in 2024. All Italian regions and dioceses currently have a diocesan or interdiocesan service for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. This is according to a survey conducted by the Bishops’ Conference, in which over 94 per cent of Italian dioceses took part.
Bishops’ Conference rejects criticism
The diocesan offices could rely on qualified and constantly trained staff. Cooperation with civil authorities has also increased. “All local churches are aware that this is an irreversible path,” writes Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, President of the Bishops’ Conference.
Italy’s bishops do not have to fear criticism in their own country for their limited strategy of coming to terms with the past. There is a lack of pressure from society and politics. What’s more: in its report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children sees considerable cultural resistance to combating abuse in Italy. Cultural taboos could make it difficult for victims and their families to talk about their experiences and report them to the authorities, it says.
In many Western countries, it was media reports that drew attention to abuse in the Catholic Church. Public pressure prompted the local churches to confront and, at best, come to terms with the scandal. In Italy, however, only a few media report on the decades-old “phenomenon”.
Italian press representatives are rarely present at events with those affected and their associations. “Normality”, according to the Italian representative of those affected, Zanardi. Improvements start with social awareness, which then moves politics. Unfortunately, however, the press closes the communication channel in this regard, he criticises.
The victims have been speaking out for years: “Not only the church, but also society in Italy must be prepared to listen and draw conclusions from what the survivors have reported,” demanded the German victims’ representative Matthias Katsch at a press conference last Monday. There, the board member of the international anti-abuse network “Ending Clergy Abuse” spoke about a previous first meeting with Pope Leo XIV – in front of journalists from English and German-speaking media only.
Little interest in society
The next step must be an actual reaction from Italian society, from politicians and the media, Katsch continued. “This plays a very important role in moving the Italian Church in the same direction as in other countries where the process started later, such as Spain or even France.”
However, the spokespersons for those affected also see a clear need for improvement in the report of the Vatican Child Protection Commission. Katsch called it “somewhat disappointing”. Many very important topics were addressed in the report of the Pontifical Commission, it was also very well formulated and quoted survivors. Nevertheless, it was not clear how to proceed. “In my opinion, he was too cautious. The commission should take a much more urgent approach and identify steps that need to be taken in the near future.”by Severina Bartonitschek (KNA)