HARRISBURG (PA)
The Guardian
August 15, 2018
By Harriet Sherwood
Pontiff vowed ‘decisive action’ when elected but has failed to get a grip on series of scandals
The damning report on the sexual abuse of potentially thousands of children by priests in Pennsylvania, and the subsequent cover-up by a Catholic church primarily interested in self-protection, is another blow for Pope Francis, who is already reeling after a series of damaging scandals over recent months.
The shocking accounts of rape and assault of vulnerable children by men who are supposed to be moral exemplars are bad enough. But, as is almost always the case, the actual abuse is compounded by collusion and concealment by senior church figures and attempts to silence and intimidate survivors.
Francis, considered progressive and enlightened on many issues, has struggled to get a grip on the scandal that has gravely weakened the Catholic church’s moral authority. Despite calling for “decisive action” when he was elected as pontiff in 2013, he has failed to turn that into a reality. Instead he has been on the back foot, reactive rather than proactive, and has misread the extent of betrayal by the church.
A special papal commission set up to make recommendations on the church’s role in child protection ran into difficulties last year when two members – both abuse survivors – quit. One, Peter Saunders, said he had thought the pope was “serious about kicking backsides and holding people to account” but that it turned out not to be so. The other, Marie Collins, said the abuse crisis was handled “with fine words in public and contrary actions behind closed doors”.
Then this year, on a visit to Chile, the pope denounced survivors who said the church had covered up sexual abuse and crimes, robustly defending a bishop he had appointed in the face of objections. The pope was later forced to admit he made “grave errors” of judgment, launch an investigation into abuse and the cover-up in the country, and accept the resignation of the bishop he had championed.
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