Vatican’s Point Man on the Protection of Children: ‘a Gospel Priority’
By Edward Pentin
Pope Francis has appointed U.S. Msgr. Robert Oliver as the new secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory body set up by the Holy Father earlier this year. Msgr. Oliver, who spent 10 years dealing with clerical sex-abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Boston, will take up the position after serving two years as the Vatican’s promoter of justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. As “chief prosecutor,” he was charged with investigating clerical sex-abuse cases as well as other grave offenses, including crimes against the sanctity of the Eucharist and violations of the seal of confession. He will be replaced by another U.S. priest, Jesuit Father Robert Geisinger. In this Sept. 11 interview with Edward Pentin, the Register’s Rome correspondent, Msgr. Oliver discusses his new role, the advances that have been made in the Church’s handling of clerical sex abuse, and how its experience could help other institutions deal with an egregious crime that affects all segments of society. What will be your new duties as secretary to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors? My duties will be many and varied. The purpose of the commission is to help the local Churches to share best practices and undertake new initiatives and policies. So we’re really hoping to have an impact on the whole world, but there has been so much that has been done so well in different parts of Europe and North America, and really around the world, that can be shared now with folks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We can learn from one another, particularly from the different cultural experiences, and the commission will have a real opportunity to share some of these things. Are you also expecting greater collaboration between the Church and civil society in combating abuse? Certainly, where they’re open to it. We have great collaboration now in many parts of the world, and it really is important, because we want to serve all children. Obviously, we’re focused on the Church, but, really, this is a problem which touches every area of society, I’m sorry to say. What can the Church offer in particular that other institutions haven’t learned yet? We’ve certainly put in a lot of effort over these many years, so [there are] the different processes we’ve put in place for screening, training, education and for different policies for responding to people when they come forward. We’ve gained a lot of experience, and we’ve also learned a lot from law enforcement, psychology and medical people, that there really is something we have to share. Have you witnessed an extensive change in the culture of the Church, so this can be tackled more effectively? Or do you see the change as more mechanical, that certain procedures have simply now been put in place? In some ways, one can see both, in that this is really a Gospel priority. The Lord speaks quite strongly about caring for our children, so this is something that has always been part of our culture — and particularly caring for those who are most vulnerable, for the defenseless. So this is part of our mission. There is an aspect [implementing procedures] that you speak of. You do learn particular things to accomplish our mission, but there’s a larger question: the fact that we’re called to be followers of Christ. What about concerns over the cover-up culture, which still crops up on occasion? I think every one of us could say we’ve changed in terms of how we understand the best way to deal with people and victims who come forward. There’s really a sense that we need to get them the help that they need and that these things need to be handled by the people who have the responsibilities to do that. Also, sometimes you have to learn who to go to — it can be that simple. Most certainly, this is something folks around the world have come to see in a new way. What, from your experiences in Boston and as promoter of justice, do you hope to bring to your new role? Certainly in Boston, I was involved fairly early on, late in 2002, which was the big year in Boston, of course. I began working in the office with folks who did such a tremendous job. We had laypeople from every field, priests and religious coming together to write new policies and put in place new things. So I did work in Boston for about 10 years and was also involved with the conference of bishops. We went to many different dioceses, and then, as a canonist, I helped out in quite a few dioceses as well. So I had quite a bit of experience in the United States over those 10 years. Then, being promoter of justice these couple of years has really been a privilege, working with really wonderful people. Seeing the work that the congregation has been doing, and its even broader perspective for the entire world, has been a great gift. So, between the relationships and the things we learn as we do this, I’ll be able to offer that now in the work with this new commission. Will you have quite a lot of autonomy and influence in your position? Or is it more of a consultative, coordinating role? It’s probably both. The commission is an advisory group to the Holy Father, so we get the best practices and best initiatives and recommend them to the Holy Father, but we really do have autonomy in doing that. We can really go to anyone of any group, or a person, seek out what’s going on and bring them forward. So the commission itself has a position within the Curia, where it does have autonomy; it reports directly with the Holy Father, but it does so in collaboration with all of the other dicasteries. Any of these initiatives, if they fall under the responsibility of another dicastery: We would work with them to develop the best possible proposals we can from the Holy Father. Think of Propaganda Fide [Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples], for example. They cover two-thirds of the world, so I hope we’re going to have a good relationship with them. How is the commission developing? Has it been given an office yet? The way in which the Holy Father is doing this is he’s saying to the initial group: “Take two or three years, and come together, do your work; and at the end of that time, let’s look at a more permanent set of statutes.” So the group itself can design what the commission will ultimately look like. But during these two years, they are to undertake projects, which they’ve already begun. So it does have a good beginning, but the way I think the proposal is being put forth, and they’ve responded to positively, is that we’re going to use a “working group” kind of model. The policies will be developed in the local churches. … A group of local churches will bring together a lot of good people and say: “Okay, what can we learn, say and do?” Then, those proposals will come to the full commission, and they’ll look at them and give them to the Holy Father. Some critics say the Holy Father is taking a risk in your appointment and that of Father Geisinger, as your successor as promoter of justice — since both of you are American, and this continues to be seen chiefly as an American/Anglophone problem. What do you say to this? I understand that and why people would say that. In the United States, our experience is of many different cultures, working closely with Hispanics and all over [with various groups]. So it’s a bit of a misunderstanding of the American experience, but what we’re also hoping to do is give the best start to this commission as we can, and then it’s really up to them going forward to decide. So once we get people from around the world, they’ll come together and say who they want their leadership to be. We’re really here to get it started. That’s our job. Are you confident the worst is now over for the Church in this area, that the page has turned and the situation is much improved? I certainly think that, as the people studying this tell us. You hear statisticians who tell you they can account for the fact that it takes a long time for people to disclose having been abused. It takes 10, 15, 20 years. ... I think all of the studies that have been done are showing that the things that we’re doing do have a good effect, and that’s the important thing — not to pat ourselves on the back, but to say: “Are the things that we’ve put in place over the past 20 years working?” And it really does seem that they are. If they’re not, tell us, and we’ll do something else. Our commitment is firm: It’s to protect children. The good news is that the things we’ve put in place really do seem to be working. One recurring criticism is that of falsely accused priests, who’ve been hounded out before they have a proper trial. Is that a concern of yours? Will you bring that to the commission? Most certainly, yes. We’re about justice, and, certainly, that has been a big concern of the congregation as well, in terms of the time that it takes. I know there’s a lot of effort going into that, and we certainly understand the pain that can be caused to priests in this area. The commission itself won’t be working on cases — that’s for the congregation — but the commission can also make recommendations on how to improve any kind of process, including the canonical processes. How important is the media in bringing about awareness of sexual abuse of minors? People around the world are paying attention to what the Catholic Church is doing, for better or worse, but we can use that in an evangelistic sense. So the role of the media is very much part of getting the word out. When people do understand that we are taking this seriously, it does help, but the size of this problem [throughout society at large] is enormous. Did you see a recent study in India? The Indian government did this study of all their children — so a couple of hundred million of them — and they cited that over 50% of them are going to suffer sexual violence as children. What does that do to a society? That’s just staggering. Would you say the Church has been leading the way on tackling sexual abuse? Yes, in a certain way. Some people have really been in the trenches for a long time, but in terms of a big organization that’s taken this on and made a real commitment, yes the Church has.
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