VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post
Antonia Blumberg
Associate Religion Editor, The Huffington Post
A commission established to advise Pope Francis on preventing sex abuse in the church released a report on Monday outlining new measures it hopes will help safeguard vulnerable children.
Following a week of meetings in Rome, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors announced several new initiatives, including a training program for bishops and a day of prayer for victims of sex abuse.
For years, bishops and priests have been accused of covering up sex abuse in the church by moving pedophile priests from parish to parish and not reporting incidents to the police. Even the Vatican failed to take action over the years ― a misstep Pope Francis has tried to remedy in part by setting up the commission at the end of 2013.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley heads the commission of 17 members, which also includes the Vatican’s former sex-crimes prosecutor, Bishop Charles Scicluna, Rev. Hans Zollner, head of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and one abuse survivor, Marie Collins.
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