VATICAN CITY — Immediately after asking bishops and religious
superiors to be concrete in confronting the clerical sexual abuse crisis and
the need to protect children in the church, Pope Francis handed them a list of
21 action items to consider.
From publicizing the contact information for reporting cases of
abuse to cooperating with local law enforcement, the action items were drawn
from suggestions made by bishops from around the world, the pope said, and
should "assist in our reflection."
The 21 items are "a simple point of departure," he
said, and "are not meant to detract from the creativity needed in this
meeting."
Several survivors of abuse, however, expressed surprise about and
unhappiness with the list.
The first item on the list is "to prepare a practical
handbook indicating the steps to be taken by authorities at key moments when a
case emerges."
Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta, who deals with abuse
cases for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, later told reporters
that his office is preparing such a handbook — in a simple question-and-answer
format — and it should be ready for publication within a few months.
The archbishop said the 21 items "govern practically all the
aspects of getting it right," but they must be discussed by summit
participants. "These are not decisions taken, otherwise we could go home
today."
The action items also included suggestions that dioceses have
"trained and expert people" on hand for an initial
"discernment" of accusations and insisted that the diocese
"inform the civil authorities and the higher ecclesiastical authorities in
compliance with civil and canonical norms."
Archbishop Scicluna insisted on the importance of involving local
police and other authorities, especially because while bishops exercise
spiritual authority over their priests, they have no actual "coercive
measures — and we don't have any nostalgia for the coercive measures of the
Inquisition" — to force priests to cooperate with investigations and obey
when punishment has been imposed.
Another suggestion on the list was to establish "specific
protocols for handling accusations against bishops," a matter that was
highlighted in 2018 when the public was informed of credible allegations made
against then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.
Participants at the Vatican summit Feb. 21-24 also were asked to
discuss ways to "accompany, protect and treat victims, offering them all
the necessary support for a complete recovery" and to offer healing and
support to the communities where abusive priests ministered.
Perhaps more controversially, the possible action items also
included considering "penitential and recovery routes for the
perpetrators" and an insistence on the "presumption of
innocence" found both in natural law and canon law.
To protect the rights of an accused, one suggestion said,
"it is necessary to prevent the lists of the accused being published, even
by the dioceses, before the preliminary investigation and the definitive
condemnation."
Archbishop Scicluna said being accused of abuse is not reason
enough to release the person's name publicly; there must at least have been a
review of the allegation and determination that it is credible. A criminal
court trial or full canonical process finding the person guilty would be what
consists defining the allegation as "substantiated," he said.
One item not on the list that Archbishop Scicluna said should be
included is a clearer policy on keeping victims informed of the status of cases
against their abusers. The canonical procedures of the church are not criminal
trials, but he said the local church should assign someone to keep in contact
with the victims as the process proceeds, and the victims have a right to be
informed about the process' conclusion.
"Many victims are hurt by the fact that they do not receive
the final report," he said. "It's a lack of respect."
Another suggestion on the list was that the church "observe
the traditional principle of proportionality of punishment with respect to the
crime committed," including when deciding whether "priests and
bishops guilty of sexual abuse of minors leave public ministry" or are
dismissed from the clerical state all together.
Also on the list was the idea of changing the Code of Canon Law
"to raise the minimum age for marriage to 16 years." The current code
says the minimum age is 16 for males and 14 for females, but bishops in many
countries have passed particular laws, approved by the Vatican, that establish
16 as the minimum age for both.
Apparently in some parts of the world, the sexual abuse of a 14-
or 15-year-old girl is not considered abuse of a minor since she is old enough
to marry. However, in cases of clerical sexual abuse, current church law
defines a minor as any person under 18 years of age.
Leona Huggins, who represents the survivor's network, SNAP, in
British Columbia, told Catholic News Service that she found the list of
suggestions to be "absolutely shocking," especially because she and
the 11 other survivors who met with the summit organizing committee Feb. 20
were there to have their voices heard.
None of their suggestions made it onto the list, she said. Their
No. 1 priority is to get the church to mandate a policy of zero tolerance for
abusers and those who cover up their crimes.
Huggins said the list actually rolls expectations and protection
efforts "backwards."
She and another survivor were especially struck that the first
item on the list was producing a "handbook" when "I think we all
know what the right thing to do is" when an allegation is made that an
adult has raped or assaulted a child.
Back in 1992, when Huggins found out the priest who had abused
her was starting a youth group: "I knew to go to the police. I don't have
expert training. ... I don't have years of theological training that these men
have. But I knew."
Peter Isely, spokesman for the Ending Clergy Abuse coalition,
said while some officials described the list as a "road map," he saw
it as drawing "a circle" leading the church back to where it started
20 years ago.
Asked if he was disappointed with the first day of the summit, Isely
said: "Children don't need for us to be disappointed, discouraged and
hopeless, it just doesn't matter. All that matters is zero tolerance so that I
can say to those ... children and families there's zero tolerance now. That's
all that matters."
Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz at the Vatican.