VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
ROME
Part 1 of this article appeared in the Aug 2-15 issue: A revolution underway with Pope Francis
Amid the clamor over Pope Francis’ comments on gays, women, the Vatican bank and other juicy topics during a July 28 in-flight news conference, one stray but revealing remark largely slipped through the cracks.
Asked if he had run into resistance to change in the Vatican, Francis delivered a mildly rambling response stressing the presence of many helpful and loyal people, along with the blunt judgment that the place’s quality has declined from the era of “old curialists” who simply did their jobs.
Then came the telling line: “It’s true,” the pope said, “that I haven’t done very much.”
In a sense, of course, he was being modest. Francis has done a great deal, mostly to reverse negative impressions of the church and to afford it a new lease on life. Yet in terms of concrete acts of governance, he had a point. …
Sex abuse
Another front where critics believe the church needs more transparency is its response to the child sexual abuse scandals.
Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who has more than two decades of experience dealing with the scandals, recently placed two ideas on the table. In a July 26 interview with NCR, O’Malley said Francis should:
* Convene the presidents of bishops’ conferences around the world and try to convince those who have not adopted strong anti-abuse guidelines to do so;
* Adopt the same anti-abuse protocols in the Vatican that have become standard practice in dioceses and other Catholic venues around the world, including background checks and screening of all personnel, training in abuse detection and prevention, and instructions in how to handle complaints.
It’s not clear whether Francis will act on those recommendations, although O’Malley is in a unique position to move the ball. He’s the lone American among the eight cardinals tapped in April to assist Francis in “governance of the universal church.”
Francis made an interesting point about the issue during his onboard news conference, distinguishing between “sins” of one’s past that may be forgiven and forgotten, and “crimes,” such as “the abuse of minors,” that require a different response.
It was a small but potentially telling sign that Francis intends to take a firm line. Many observers believe one test will be whether Francis extends the tough accountability the church now has for priests who abuse also to bishops who mismanage abuse complaints. Senior churchmen expressed confidence to NCR that Francis will do so, though to date there’s been no clear move along those lines.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.