Pope Francis has called together the presidents of the Episcopal conferences from all over the world for a summit at the Vatican Feb 21 to 24. It will cover the topic of “Protection of Minors in the Church.”
WHY HAS THE POPE CALLED FOR THIS SUMMIT ON ABUSE?
It is the most ambitious initiative called to confront the crisis of abuses committed by people of the Church.
POPE FRANCIS
'(When a victim comes forward), some bishops did not understand well or did not know what to do, or did one good thing or another wrong thing.
“We want them to know what to do, the procedure.'
WHAT DOES THE SUMMIT CONSIST OF?
Over the course of three and a half days, they will address three issues:
Responsibility (of the bishops),
Accountability and
Transparency.
To do so, they will hear testimonies from victims and experts. They will also look for ways to strengthen legal regulation and, above all, to monitor its implementation.
They will also have a penitential liturgy to ask God and the victims for forgiveness.
WHO IS PARTICIPATING?
Some 190 people are involved. The most relevant are the 114 presidents of episcopal conferences. Also in attendance are 14 leaders of Eastern Churches; 12 superiors of religious orders; and 10 superiors of women's religious orders.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?
The pope wants to put an end to the notion that in the event of abuse, the bishops' priority is to defend the good name of the Church.
HANS ZOLLNER
President, Center for Child Protection, Pont. Gregorian University
“If one really meets a survivor and sits with them for one, two or five hours, and hears the cry for help, the tears, the wounds to the psyche, body and heart, and faith, one cannot remain as before. If one really listens, one has to be changed'.
The pope asked summit participants to meet with abuse victims in their own countries before traveling to Rome to learn the concrete consequences of the abuses.
POPE FRANCIS
“I regularly meet people who have been abused. I remember one, 40 years without being able to pray. It's terrible. The suffering is terrible.”
HANS ZOLLNER
President, Center for Child Protection, Pont. Gregorian University
“Almost all the victims of priests were people very close to the Church, they were not outsiders, they were in our schools, in parishes, they were altar servants. Many of them have had their faith taken away, their faith in God, in the Church, in people.”
Until now, abuses have only been combated in countries where cases of abuse have occurred, and through legal norms and certain measures. Now the protection of children will become a special focus of the whole Church's mission throughout the world.
WHAT WILL CHANGE?
Continental bodies are likely to emerge to monitor compliance with the protocols and to help prosecute defendants within a reasonable time frame.
Although it is foreseeable that the penalties for those who commit abuses will be increased, they will not be confined to this.
HANS ZOLLNER
President, Center for Child Protection, Pont. Gregorian University
'It's a matter of changing the attitude, and this is much more difficult than changing a law and thinking that it is the solution'. 'It's necessary to have an invested and proactive will to put the spirit of the law into practice.”
POPE FRANCIS
'It is a human tragedy that we must become aware of. By resolving the problem in the Church, by becoming aware of it, we will also help to resolve it in society, in families, where shame covers everything.”
The pope will hold the summit in the same place where synods are held. The penitential ceremony and closing Mass will be in the “Sala Regia” of the Apostolic Palace.
On the last day the pope will give an important speech in which he will announce the first conclusions from the meeting.
