Of Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, November 13, 2024 / 1:05 p.m

Catholic leaders from across Europe are in Rome this week to discuss how the Church can best protect children from sexual abuse and how to help those who have already been harmed by it.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) is hosting a conference on protection in the Catholic Church in Europe from November 13-15.

The meeting, which takes place in the center of Rome at the headquarters of the PCPM, includes participants — bishops, priests, religious and laity — from 25 countries in Europe.

Safeguarding practices and strategies, how Church law and civil law interact, how to better help victims and how to develop safeguarding networks are some of the topics the conference will address.

Vatican leaders and representatives of the Commission for European Episcopal Conferences (COMECE) are also attending the meeting, which will include a Nov. 14 keynote address by Archbishop John J. Kennedy, secretary of the Vatican office responsible for disciplining priests guilty of abuse. .

In a message to conference participants on Nov. 13, Pope Francis said that “the participants’ commitment to this cause (of protection against abuse) is a sign of the Church’s ongoing efforts to protect the most vulnerable among us.”

The pontiff wrote that he is praying for the conference, which he hopes will be “a source of fruitful perspectives” and that their exchanges “will contribute to a safer and more compassionate Church” and a “deeper commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults within the Church.”

“In a special way, I encourage initiatives made to offer comfort and assistance to those who have suffered, as a sign of the Church’s concern for justice, healing and reconciliation,” Francis said.

Annual report issued

In late October, the Vatican’s safeguarding commission issued it first annual report evaluating the Catholic Church’s abuse prevention policies and procedures in dioceses around the world, from Africa to Oceania.

The report noted that in Europe, there is positive progress towards greater frameworks and safeguards within the Church, with many good practices in place, but “differences in response strategies between bishops and religious may present opportunities for growth and improvement”.

Among the challenges, the report identified a lack of data on the prevalence of abuse in many countries, some frustration with how cases are handled in the canonical system, and disparities between Western and Eastern Europe in the availability and quality of counseling and sensitive childcare. victims.

“In (European) nations that have gone through very complex crises or that have developed an in-depth public dialogue on abuse, there is a clear tendency to establish more structured and responsive systems for dealing with abuse within the Church,” the report said. report.

Hannah Brockhaus is the Catholic News Agency’s senior Vatican correspondent. After growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, she earned a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri. In 2016, she moved to Rome, Italy, where in her free time she enjoys reading and going on adventures with her husband and son.