Survivor says delays, lack of transparency on abuse cases is ‘retraumatizing’

ROME – Members of the pope’s anti-abuse watchdog body have said they find long wait times for victims who have lodged a complaint with church authorities, coupled with a lack of information available on their cases, to be of great concern, with one survivor calling the situation “retraumatizing.”

Speaking to journalists Oct. 29, Chilean abuse survivor Juan Carlos Cruz said the issue of transparency is “something very near and dear to me, because I lived it personally.”

“This non-providing of information is a form of re-trauma for many survivors, who have no idea where their case of abuse went, into what dark hole, and where they can find information,” he said.

Cruz, who is a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), was present alongside other members of the group for the presentation of their first annual report examining safeguarding efforts around the world.

The report, published Tuesday, found that local efforts in safeguarding are varied, and that there is a particular need for greater transparency and a streamlined process for handling abuse cases within the Roman Curia.

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“It’s very important to explore how you can provide more information to an individual about his or her case, not only because of ‘I just want to know,’ but because it retraumatizes people by having to tell their story a hundred million times and feeling that it goes nowhere,” Cruz said.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston and president of the PCPM, told journalists that the commission is “very worried about the difficulty that victims have in getting information on their cases.”

This is especially true for victims whose complaints have gone to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), which handles clerical abuse cases, and which has a backlog of complaints that often leaves victims waiting years with no communication about the status of their case.

O’Malley said the DDF’s response has typically been to seek information in the local church where the case originated, due to issues such as culture and language, but added “we see that this is not working.”

Various solutions have been proposed, O’Malley said, including, beginning with “more communication with the victims.”

He said the commission is also “very concerned about the length of time” it takes to process cases, and that bishops’ conferences from around the world have asked for “better procedures.”

Potential solutions to the backlog, he said, have included the creation of regional tribunals to deal with more clear-cut cases, which is something he said is already being done in some countries, and “can be a wonderful pilot project.”

“As far as I can see, I think that’s the way we need to go,” O’Malley said, saying the number of cases that go to the DDF is “so great” that it can be overwhelming.

In the meantime, he said, there is also the question of civil justice, with many cases being tried first in civil courts, “which themselves are very slow,” and then only afterwards going to the ecclesiastical courts.

“Some people are waiting for years,” he said, saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

O’Malley also spoke of the need to streamline the efforts of the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as many of them hold differing responsibilities for abuse cases but lack expertise in handling them, so “they feel overwhelmed and swamped.”

Similarly, Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, auxiliary of Bogotá and secretary of the PCPM, said a constant complaint of victims is “the lack of communication” on their cases.

“They start a canonical process and afterwards many know absolutely anything about this process,” he said, saying this complaint has been made not only about the Roman Curia, but also about local dioceses and canonical procedures.

Herrea said the commission is evaluating the proposal of appointing a procurator to liaise with the disciplinary section of the DDF, which handles clerical abuse cases, as an advocate for victims to obtain information about their cases.

In comments to Crux, Herrera said they are also tracking implementation of norms such as the pope’s 2016 decree Come una madre amorevole, which outlines procedures for when bishops are negligent in handling abuse cases, and the 2019 norm Vos estis lux mundi, which requires mandatory reporting of abuse allegations within the church.

The commission, he said, “notes a constant level of attention and implementation for [Vos Estis] in the local churches we meet.”

The extent of its implementation depends on local resources, he said, saying this is why the PCPM invests “so much effort in offering good practices to local churches,” particularly through the Memorare initiative, which provides concrete support to churches in the global south.

“But there must be transparency and information,” he said, vowing that “we will follow this area carefully both in our daily work and in the next editions of the report.”

Members of the commission described efforts to change the internal culture of the church and the Roman Curia regarding safeguarding as an uphill battle, but one in which slow progress is being made.

Herrera said that in the 10 years he has been a member of the PCPM, “It’s been a cross for me to see the resistance of the very institution that I love, and that I have given my life to. But without doubt I have also seen many significant changes in these years.”

Similarly, Cruz said that “I never thought we would get to this day. If you would have asked me 12, 15 years ago, when we were beginning my fight, and others have been fighting for more years and decades, I never thought I’d be sitting here, that I’d be working on something like this with extraordinary people.”

Cruz thanked everyone, from victim-survivors, to experts, journalists and Pope Francis, who have pushed for progress in safeguarding, saying he has “tremendous hope” in the report, which he said is “an important first step” in arriving at greater safety and transparency.

Members also said that while initially skeptical about the incorporation of the PCPM into the DDF, fearing it would mean a loss of their independence, the perspective has largely changed, and they feel they are being taken more seriously on the inside.

“The fact that the commission is, in a way, being embedded within the curia and given a permanent status is something that will be very helpful,” O’Malley said, saying it ensures that the commission will have a permanent presence, and that “the people in the curia have to take us with greater seriousness.”

He described engagement with the various dicasteries of the curia as a “slow dance” that is just beginning, but which he believes brings the voice of victims more clearly into the process.

Members said future reports will also explore the issue of compensation, noting that reparation is not only a financial question but also involves apologies and punishment for the abuser.

A study group has also been formed, members said, to develop a clearer definition of “vulnerable adult,” given the number of increasing cases dealing with the abuse of adults, including women religious and seminarians, among others.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen