ARGENTINA
National Catholic Reporter
by John L. Allen Jr. | Apr. 6, 2013
Buenos Aires, Argentina – When the Vatican released a statement yesterday indicating that Pope Francis wants to move aggressively on the child sexual abuse scandals in the church, it was met by skepticism from victims groups insisting that “actions speak louder than words.”
Over the years, perhaps the most persistent such demand for action has been that bishops who mishandle abuse cases should be held accountable. Yesterday, a senior aide and confidante to then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio predicted that Francis will plug this hole as pope.
“Without a doubt,” said Fr. Jorge Oesterheld, who served as the spokesperson for the bishops’ conference in Argentina for the six years Bergoglio was its president from 2005 to 2011.
In an interview with NCR, Oesterheld said Francis will be committed to a “zero tolerance” policy with regard to sexual abuse.
Oesterheld also addressed the failure of the bishop’s conference to meet a Vatican-imposed deadline of May 2012 for submitting anti-sex abuse guidelines, roughly six months after Bergoglio stepped down as president. He said that under Bergoglio’s leadership, the conference was “very respectful” of each bishop’s direct relationship with the Vatican, and the desire not to “supplant” that relationship may be part of the reason it took more time to hammer out common policies.
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