Pope’s abuse watchdog panel urges transparency, streamlining in Roman Curia

ROME – A new annual report from the Vatican’s safeguarding body calls for a more transparent and streamlined process for handling abuse cases in the Roman Curia, as part of a global analysis of the Church’s efforts on abuse prevention.

An executive summary of the report, published Tuesday and covering the year 2023, highlighted seven key findings, the first of which was “the need to better promote victims’/survivors’ access to information” and to address concerns about “opaque canonical processes as a source of re-traumatization.”

“Measures should be explored that provide the right of any individual to information relating to him/her, especially the circumstances and responsibilities related to their case of abuse,” the report said, adding that consideration must also be given to data protection laws and requirements.

The report flagged what it said was a need for “consolidation and clarity around the jurisdictions held by dicasteries of the Roman Curia, to ensure the efficient, timely, and rigorous management of cases of abuse referred to the Holy See.”

“The commission found a persistent concern regarding the transparency in the Roman Curia’s procedures and juridical processes,” the report said, observing that this “will continue to foment distrust among the faithful, especially the victim/survivor community.”

Established in 2014 to identify best practices in abuse prevention efforts, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) has been led from the beginning by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the former Archbishop of Boston.

O’Malley was present for the Oct. 29 presentation of the report in Rome, alongside the PCPM’s secretary and Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, auxiliary of Bogota, and Teresa Kettelkamp, respectively, as well as abuse survivor Juan Carlos Cruz, an advocate for survivors and a member of the PCPM.

Pope Francis asked for an annual report to be developed in an audience with the PCPM April 2022. The report published Tuesday is the pilot.

According to the executive summary, the PCPM examines between 15-20 local churches per year, and aims to create a complete global overview in a period of five to six annual reports, which will cover different areas of the world and different religious institutions.

This year’s report covers episcopal conferences throughout Africa and Asia, and select conferences in Europe and the Americas, as well as the Consolata Missionary Sisters and the male Congregation of the Holy Spirit.

Divided into four different sections, the report reviews the local context of safeguarding, the continental regional context, efforts the level of the Roman Curia in service to local churches, and safeguarding ministry in society through the contribution of local Caritas branches.

At a general level, the report’s findings were “varied,” with some church entities and authorities demonstrating “a clear commitment to safeguarding,” whereas others “are only at the beginning.”

In the third section, dedicated to the Roman Curia, a summary said the Church’s central governing bureaucracy can serve as “a hub for sharing good practices in safeguarding, in its service to the local churches.”

The report said its aim is promote “a common vision and to collect reliable information, in order to foster a higher degree of transparency in the Roman Curia’s procedures and jurisprudence with regard to individual cases of clerical abuse.”

It noted that the Roman Curia plays an important role in the handling of abuse cases, but that “responsibilities exercised by the dicasteries and local church authorities are fragmented.”

“An unambiguous and shared protocol that clarifies the various responsibilities, and their limits, in a timely manner would help to avoid delays in the Roman Curia’s service to the local churches,” the report said.

It noted that a common concern among bishops during ad limina visits – made every five years when the bishops of a country visit Rome and meet with departments of the Roman Curia – was with “delays in the processing of cases at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is divided into a doctrinal section and a disciplinary section, with the disciplinary section responsible for clerical sexual abuse cases. The PCPM said concern about procedural delays in the DDF were “persistent and frequent,” and the issue must be addressed “at the highest levels of the Roman Curia.”

“This challenge risks renewed trauma for victims/survivors and their families and was noted as a challenge for bishops in their efforts to accompany victims/survivors,” the report said, saying the DDF must also play a primary role in “swiftly addressing” cases of coverup or negligence on the part of bishops, or when they themselves are accused of abuse.

A recommendation for bishops frustrated with delays was that they should write to the DDF to express “concern and frustration with the time it takes for the dicastery’s disciplinary section to process a case.”

For the Congregation of the Holy Spirit alone, the report said 31 cases of abuse had been received and sent to the DDF between 2014-2024, and that while one case was handled in about five months, “most of the cases are reported to take several years.”

“This long turnaround time is of urgent concern,” the commission said. It said the disciplinary section of the DDF has provided only “limited statistical information on its activities,” making it difficult to conduct an accurate audit of its productivity.

Other findings in the report include the need for “a holistic approach to the definition and enforcement of vulnerability in the Church’s safeguarding provisions.”

“A more uniform definition of vulnerability must be developed,” the report said, and called for a detailed sharing of experiences gained in “the exercise of judicial functions,” in all areas of the world.

Also identified was the need for “a streamlined process for discharge from office, to enable a smooth and simple pathway for the resignation or removal of a church leader.”

There is a need to further develop the Church’s magisterium on safeguarding, the report said, in order “to promote conversion within the Church regarding child dignity and human rights in relation to abuse.”

The report also highlighted the need to study damages and compensation policies “to promote a rigorous approach to reparations,” and to promote greater professionalism in the field of safeguarding through academic resources.

At the regional level, the report found that results were varied, with parts of the Americas, Europe, and Oceania benefiting from “substantial resources” for safeguarding, whereas many from Central and South America, Africa, and Asia “have inadequate dedicated resources.”

There is therefore an urgency “of increasing solidarity among episcopal conferences, to mobilize resources for a universal standard in safeguarding,” the report said.

Part of the commission’s efforts to promote safeguarding the global south, where resources are more limited, has been through the Memorare initiative, which provides funding jointly with the Italian Bishops’ Conference to the global south for the development in safeguarding. Funds go toward the establishment of centers of reporting and assistance, formation in safeguarding and building networks of safeguarding professionals at the local level.

Participants in Tuesday’s press conference acknowledged a certain level of resistance among some when it comes to change and implementation of the church’s safeguarding norms and policies, but said many steps have been taken, and that while progress is slow, change is happening.