VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Register
March 1, 2018
By Edward Pentin
The former prefect at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith speaks to the Register about the Vatican’s handling of clergy sexual abuse and controversial interference by some prelates in individual cases.
For five years until July 2017, Cardinal Gerhard Müller oversaw the handling of cases of priests accused or found guilty of clerical sex abuse.
In the following exclusive comments to the Register via email, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith discusses how the Vatican has dealt with the tragic issue, responds to criticism of Pope Francis’ handling of some individual cases (referred to in my recent article here), and shares insights on what could be done better.
The German cardinal is certain that Pope Francis fully accepts the zero tolerance policy toward proven cases of clergy sexual abuse. But he also believes it is imperative that canonical processes by carried out “according to the current discipline,” that this area of the CDF be staffed by “canonically well-educated priests,” and that interference in abuse cases by third parties — which has happened a number of times during this pontificate — must be avoided “as much as possible” as “it causes great harm to the Church and is an injustice to the victims.”
Another key point the Cardinal makes is that the often excessive length of time in dealing with cases can be resolved by employing well qualified and able officials. Three of Cardinal Müller’s staff, two of whom dealt with abuse cases and who he considered very able, were dismissed by the Pope. The then-prefect wasn’t given a reason. “You cannot part with your best horses and at the same time demand the carriage goes at a higher speed,” the cardinal says.
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.