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Pope’s sex abuse panel tells survivor to take a time-out Pope’s sex abuse panel tells survivor to take a time-out
(about 1 hour later)
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ sex abuse advisory committee voted Saturday to temporarily sideline one of its members, a high-profile abuse survivor who had clashed with the commission over its mission. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ sex abuse advisory committee voted Saturday to sideline one of its members, a high-profile abuse survivor who had clashed with the commission over its mission.
Peter Saunders, a British advocate for survivors, had been highly critical of the Vatican’s slow pace of progress in taking measures to protect children and punish bishops who covered up for pedophile priests. He has also insisted the pope’s commission was not just crafting long-term policies to fight abuse but also should intervene immediately in individual cases. Peter Saunders, a British advocate for victims, had been highly critical of the Vatican’s slow pace of progress in taking measures to protect children and punish bishops who covered up for pedophile priests. He had also wanted the commission to intervene immediately in individual cases, rather than just craft long-term policies to fight abuse.
During a commission meeting Saturday, “it was decided that Mr. Peter Saunders would take a leave of absence from his membership to consider how he might best support the commission’s work,” the Vatican said in a statement. During a commission meeting Saturday, “it was decided that Mr. Peter Saunders would take a leave of absence from his membership to consider how he might best support the commission’s work,” the Vatican said.
The decision is a blow to Francis’ efforts to show that he is tough on abuse, since the presence of Saunders and another abuse survivor, Marie Collins, had given the commission credibility.The decision is a blow to Francis’ efforts to show that he is tough on abuse, since the presence of Saunders and another abuse survivor, Marie Collins, had given the commission credibility.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Saunders said commission members asked him to step aside after concluding they could no longer trust him to work within the scope of the commission’s mandate. In an interview with The Associated Press, Saunders said commission members, with one abstention, asked had him to step aside after concluding they could no longer trust him to work within the scope of the commission’s mandate.
“The commission members took a vote and apart from one abstention they agreed that they could no longer continue to work with me,” Saunders said. “I do not want to prevent the work of the commission, the good work that the commission is doing from going ahead, so I had no choice but to step aside.” “I do not want to prevent the work of the commission, the good work that the commission is doing from going ahead, so I had no choice but to step aside,” he said.
His departure leaves just one other abuse survivor on the commission, which was formed in 2013 to advise the Vatican on protecting children, educating church personnel and parishioners about abuse, and keeping pedophiles out of the priesthood. He said the Vatican’s inaction in the face of continuing cases of children being raped and molested “made me lose faith in the process and lose faith in Pope Francis.”
The commission was formed after victims’ groups questioned whether the Argentine pope, who had never dealt with an abuse case, really understood the scope of the scandal in the church. But the commission took a big step last year when it successfully proposed that the Vatican create an in-house tribunal to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect their flocks. His departure leaves Collins as the lone abuse survivor on the commission, which was formed in 2013 to advise the Vatican on protecting children, educating church personnel and parishioners about abuse, and keeping pedophiles out of the priesthood.
The lack of bishop accountability has prompted years of criticism from abuse victims, advocacy groups and others that the Vatican had failed to punish or forcibly remove bishops who moved predator priests from parish to parish, where they could rape again, rather than report them to police or remove them from ministry. Collins told the AP it was a “sad day” for the commission. She acknowledged Saunders’ complaints about the pace of work but said the overall mission was still important.
The Vatican has released no information about the progress in the tribunal’s work so far. “It is slow. It’s not going to make changes overnight. And there are frustrations in that,” she said. “But if we can change policy and get policies put in place that will stick around the world that will make children safer in the future, then it’s worth making time to get it right.”
The commission in general, and Saunders in particular, had been highly critical of Francis’ decision to appoint a Chilean bishop despite allegations from abuse survivors that he had covered up for the country’s most notorious pedophile. The bishop denied the charge and Francis stood by the appointment. The commission was formed after victims’ groups questioned whether the Argentine pope, who had never dealt with an abuse case, really understood the scope of the scandal. But the commission took a big step last year when it successfully proposed that the Vatican create an in-house tribunal to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect their flocks.
The commission has stressed that its mission is not to intervene in individual cases but to craft policy guidelines for the church. The commission had been highly critical of Francis’ decision to appoint a Chilean bishop despite allegations from abuse survivors that he had covered up for the country’s most notorious pedophile, the Rev. Fernando Karadima.
One of Karadima’s victims, Juan Carlos Cruz, joined Saunders on Saturday in Rome in hopes of speaking to the commission but was refused. Cruz had been proposed as a possible commission member but emails published in the Chilean media showed how the Chilean church hierarchy worked to keep him off the panel.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.