This is a dangerous moment in the global struggle against clerical abuse. There is a growing perception that, after almost two decades of concerted effort, Rome is starting to backslide.
Is there any truth in this? Not if you rely solely on information from the Holy See press office. At the start of the year, the Vatican released a letter from Pope Francis to the world’s bishops. “I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst,” he wrote. Then the Pope named Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican department that has dealt with abuse cases since 2001. Shortly afterwards, Francis wrote the preface to a book by a Swiss abuse survivor.
