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Victims, Accountability on Agenda at Pope’s Sex Abuse Summit
By Nicole Winfield
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY — The
Vatican on Tuesday re-
leased the first details of
Pope Francis’ upcoming
high-stakes sex abuse
prevention
summit,
making clear that bish-
ops attending the gath-
ering must reach out to
victims before they get to
Rome and that account-
ability is very much on
the agenda.
Organizers of the Feb.
21-24 summit warned
participants in a letter
that failure to address
the scandal now threat-
ens the very credibility
of the Catholic Church
around the world.
As a first step, they
urged the estimated 130
presidents of national
bishops’ conferences at-
tending the summit to
meet with survivors in
their home countries “to
learn firsthand the suf-
fering that they have en-
dured.”
Francis invited the
church leaders to the
meeting to develop a
comprehensive response
to what has become the
gravest threat to his pa-
pacy, as the abuse and
cover-up scandal erupt-
ed anew in the U.S., Chile
and elsewhere this year.
Survivors have been
dubious about what the
meeting can accomplish,
given the limited time,
the varied experiences
and needs of national
churches and the fact
that the problem has al-
ready been known for
years.
“
‘They’re
just now
getting
around
to this?
Good Lord,
where’ve
you been?’
“They’re just now
getting around to this?
Good Lord, where’ve you
been?” marveled Barba-
ra Dorris, a survivor of
abuse who has been a
longtime outspoken ad-
vocate for victims.
Noting that the U.S.
scandal first emerged in
2001, she said: “It’s been
17 years. If you haven’t
met with survivors in 17
years, I think that says a
lot right there.”
In revealing the first
details of the meeting,
the Vatican said itt would
focus on three main ar-
eas: responsibility, ac-
countability and trans-
parency. The reference
to accountability sug-
gests that church leaders
will confront not only
the crimes of priests who
rape and molest minors,
but the cover-up by their
superiors as well.
Abuse victims and
their advocates have long
blasted the Vatican for
failing to discipline and
remove bishops who fail
to protect their flocks,
and until recently Fran-
cis appeared unwilling
to significantly change
course.
He appointed four
key clerics to prepare
the meeting: Chicago
Cardinal Blase Cupich,
a
Francis-appointee
and staunch supporter,
Mumbai Cardinal Os-
wald Gracias, a member
of the pope’s informal
cabinet, as well as the
Vatican’s leading abuse
experts, Maltese Arch-
bishop Charles Scicluna
and the Rev. Hans Zoll-
ner.
Their letter to the glob-
al church hierarchy laid
out the stakes.
“Absent a comprehen-
sive and communal re-
sponse, not only will we
fail to bring healing to
victim survivors, but the
very credibility of the
church to carry on the
mission of Christ will be
in jeopardy throughout
the world,” they wrote.
“Each of us needs to
own this challenge, com-
ing together in solidarity,
humility and penitence
to repair the damage
done, sharing a common
AP PHOTO/GREGORIO BORGIA
According to information released by Vatican, bishops must reach out to victims before they attend
Pope Francis waves to faithful during the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Dec.
16. Organizers of an upcoming summit on sexual abuse have warned participants that failure to address
the global scandal now threatens the credibility of the Catholic Church.
commitment to trans-
parency and holding ev-
eryone in the church ac-
countable,” they said.
Their appeal for bish-
ops to meet with victims
was an indication that
many in the church hier-
archy continue to deny
the scope of the problem
and have never met with
a victim.
Vatican
spokesman
Greg Burke said that
meeting with victims “is
a concrete way of put-
ting victims first and ac-
knowledging the horror
of what happened.”
Francis announced in
September that he was
convening the summit,
signaling awareness at
the top of the church that
clergy abuse is a global
problem and not restrict-
ed to some parts of the
world or a few Western
countries.
He did so as he worked
to recover from his
botched handling of the
scandal in Chile, sparked
earlier this year when he
repeatedly discredited
victims of a notorious
Chilean predator priest
and defended a bishop
who had protected him.
Francis eventually ad-
mitted he was wrong,
apologized to the victims
and secured offers of
resignation from every
accused bishop in the
country. Francis took ac-
tion after The Associated
Press challenged him on
the case and produced
evidence that he had
received victims’ com-
plaints.
Francis’ papacy was
later jolted by accusa-
tions from a retired Vat-
ican ambassador that
the pope himself reha-
bilitated now-disgraced
American ex-cardinal
Theodore McCarrick,
who was accused of
molesting and harass-
ing adult seminarians.
Francis hasn’t respond-
ed to the allegations,
though he has ordered
a limited investigation
into them.
Expectations for the
February summit, al-
ready high after a year
of crisis, took on greater
import last month after
the Vatican blocked U.S.
bishops from taking ac-
tion to impose new ac-
countability measures
on themselves.
The Vatican never fully
explained why it halted
the U.S. measures, part
of the communications
breakdowns that occa-
sionally bedevil the Vat-
ican.
The details of the sum-
mit were announced on
the same day the Vatican
announced a shakeup in
its communications op-
eration.
Francis named veteran
Vatican correspondent
Andrea Tornielli as edi-
torial director coordinat-
ing Vatican media.
And he tapped Italian
writer and professor
Andrea Monda to head
the Vatican newspaper,
L’Osservatore Romano.
Monda replaces Giovan-
ni Maria Vian, a church
historian and journalist
who has headed the dai-
ly since 2007 and now
becomes its emeritus ed-
itor.