Pope Francis is looking to make sure the sexual abuse of minors that has for years plagued the Catholic Church comes to an end. The Vatican announced on Thursday that Pope Francis is setting up a commission in order to prevent the abuse of minors as well as give aid and support to those who have already been abused. In Rome the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley announced that the Pope's commission is going to instruct church officials on how to handle cases of abuse.
The commission is said to be informing church leaders they must cooperate with "civil authorities" and report cases of abuse. The committee is also tasked with advising Francis on how the church can protect children from pedophiles. The Pope is also looking to implement a better screening process for those entering the priesthood in order to keep pedophiles from joining the Clergy. What is not known at the moment is whether or not the committee will be working to bring Bishops and other church leaders who cover up abuses to account.
Victims of clerical abuse and those who advocate for them have long been dissatisfied with the Church's refusal to sanction bishops who have covered for priests who have been abusing children. "Quite frankly that's something that the church needs to address," O'Malley said when asked about the practice by reporters in Rome. "I'm not sure whether it will be this commission or the CDF or the Congregation for Bishops." The CDF is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the past the Vatican maintained that the responsibility of protecting children was that of the bishops not the Holy See.
"The Holy See will try and help to identify best practices," O'Malley said. "Certainly we hope that the Holy See will be able to model what those best practices are as a way of helping other diocese and bishops to have a response that is truly adequate and pastoral." The eight members of the Council of Cardinal Advisers have been meeting with the Pope since Monday. The Cardinals proposed the committee and the Holy Father agreed. Since his election in March Pope Francis has said he is looking to reform the church.
Dealing with Clerical abuse is one issue he has deemed of high importance. In July Pope Francis established a law making it illegal to abuse children physically or sexually on Vatican grounds. Under Church law these abuses were already considered criminal acts, not they are specific to the Vatican city-state and the hundreds of people who call it home.
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