Pope Francis: “We are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth”

Nearly 200 church leaders gathered in Rome from February 21 to 24 for the Vatican summit on “The Protection of Minors in the Church” convened by Pope Francis.

At the start of the event, the Pope called for “concrete and effective measures” to contend with the problem. He detailed “21 reflection points” or ideas for action the church can potentially take against abuse.

“We sense the weight of the pastoral and ecclesial responsibility that obliges us to discuss together, in a synodal, frank and in-depth manner, how to confront this evil afflicting the church and humanity”, Pope Francis told the attending bishops, heads of the Eastern-rite Catholic churches, and the international leadership of women’s and men’s religious orders, including the Union of General Superiors of which Jesuit Superior General Fr Arturo Sosa is President.

For four days, the church leaders listened to speeches demanding accountability and requisite action, and watched a video testimony of five people from different parts of the world, who wished to remain anonymous, tell their stories of abuse and cover-ups.

Days before the summit, the Union of General Superiors and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG-Women Religious) issued a joint statement apologising to clergy abuse survivors and calling to create “structures of accountability” in the global church.

“We acknowledge that there was an inadequate attempt to deal with this issue and a shameful lack of capacity to understand your pain”, they wrote in their message to survivors.

“We offer our sincerest apologies and our sorrow. We ask you to believe in our goodwill and in our sincerity. We invite you to work with us to put in place new structures to ensure that the risks are minimised.”

Former Director of Vatican Radio and Spokesperson for the Holy See Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, who moderated the summit, said in a briefing on February 24 that Pope Francis will soon publish guidelines concerning child protection for the Vatican City State.

Also proposed was a handbook or vademecum for bishops, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, that will contain a set of guidelines that “will help bishops around the world clearly understand their duties and tasks” when handling cases of abuse.

Pope Francis also wants to amend the current law concerning the crime of a cleric acquiring, possessing or distributing pornographic images of minors by extending the age from 14 years old to include young people under the age of 18.

Lastly, the Pope expressed his intention to establish task forces “made up of competent persons” that will assist dioceses and episcopal conferences “that find it difficult to confront the problems and produce initiatives for the protection of minors,” especially when they lack the needed resources and expertise.

Fr Hans Zollner SJ, a member of the Organising Committee and Head of the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University, said that it is important to tackle the “the systemic roots of the problem”.

The themes of the meeting reflect both the problem and the solution: Responsibility, Accountability and Transparency.

“The Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes”, said Pope Francis at the conclusion of the summit.

He called for an “all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas”.

“No explanation suffices for abuse involving children. We need to recognise with humility and courage that we stand face to face with the mystery of evil, which strikes most violently against the most vulnerable, for they are an image of Jesus”, said the Pope.

He added: “We are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth: this is demanded by all the many victims hidden in families and in the various settings of our societies”.

Read the full text of Pope Francis’ concluding address here.