Over his pontificate, Pope Francis has seized every opportunity to condemn the scourge of abuse and to apologize for the fact that it exists in the Church at all, and he started in Rome.
POPE FRANCIS
Before God and his people I express my sorrow.
Then, in the United States and Ireland.
POPE FRANCIS
I deeply regret it. God weeps.
POPE FRANCIS
We ask forgiveness.
And once more when he was in Chile.
POPE FRANCIS
I am ashamed of the irreparable damage inflicted on children.
When allegations of abuse first emerged in Chile, Pope Francis had difficulty accepting they were credible. But after visiting the country and commissioning an investigation, he decided to take action. The result? The entire Chilean bishops’ conference resigned.
BP. JUAN IGNACIO GONZÁLEZ ERRÁZURIZ
Diocese of San Bernardo, Chile
We want to ask forgiveness for the pain experienced by the victims, the Pope, the people of God and the country, by our grave errors and omissions.
Two well-known Church leaders credibly accused of abusing minors and vulnerable adults were expelled from the priesthood: Fernando Karadima and Theodore McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington, D.C..
In 2019, Pope Francis summoned the leaders of the world's bishops' conferences to the Vatican. The objective of this unprecedented meeting was to spread awareness among the Catholic hierarchy by listening to the testimonies of victims.
When you experience abuse you would like to put an end to it all. But it is not possible.
As reports of abuse continue to be published in many countries, victims and survivors are speaking out more frequently and expressing their frustrations.
There's no name, there's no date, there's no concrete measure. They are just words and more words.
But since 2019, there have been concrete measures like the elimination of pontifical secrecy, meaning the Church can share information with civil authorities. The Pope has also created a clear procedure to prosecute negligent or abusive bishops, and established offices where victims or relatives can file complaints and request support.
In 2021, the Code of Canon Law was specifically reformulated to include a section dedicated to crimes of abuse and their corresponding punishments. All this is Pope Francis' attempt to move from words to actions.
However, the passage of time did not seem to put an end to the lack of transparency in the proceedings against clerics carried out by the Doctrine of the Faith. A Vatican agency dedicated to the care of victims publicly pointed this out.
MONS. LUIS ALÍ HERRERA
Secretary, Pont. Com. for the Guardianship of Minors
The permanent, constant complaint is the lack of communication. A canonical process begins and then many of these victims know absolutely nothing about this process. This same situation, this same complaint, is not only said of the organisms of the Roman Curia, but also of the particular churches, the dioceses, of those in charge of their canonical processes.
In recent years, the Doctrine of the Faith and even the Pope had to face a thorny case: that of former Jesuit Marko Rupnik, the internationally renowned artist and theologian. He was accused of sexual and psychological abuse by several women.
GLORIA BRANCINI
Alleged abuse victim
(I felt) a sense of disorientation, a state of confusion, a feeling of violation of my integrity and my relationship with the Divine —this is the most devastating point for me. And the deep humiliation of my whole being—body, soul and spirit. Along with feeling the pain of evil. A weight on my heart…
Fr. Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuit order for failing to testify on charges of abuse and for breaking his vow of obedience.
The case was controversial because the investigation process and the communication denounced by the alleged victims raised doubts as to whether the norms approved in previous years had in fact not been applied when it came to the concrete facts.
JRB
TR: KG/OJ
