Sexual abuse, the most serious problem of Francisco's papacy

ROME.- Although it has been inherited, the scandal of badual abuse committed by the clergy is the great challenge of the pontificate of the

dad Francisco

and the Catholic Church.

The crisis that erupted in the 2000s in the United States also shook other countries such as Ireland, Australia, Germany and, recently, Chile, which is carrying out a "cleansing" "spectacular.

It is a "stone in the shoe" of the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, but above all a horror that has never tainted the credibility of the Catholic Church which, during decades, to protect the reputation of this institution phenomenon, but it has concealed, moved violent priests from one diocese to another and abused the victims, in a culture of silence, what everyone now knows, partly thanks journalistic investigations and denunciations of survivors. And that the pope wants to eradicate.

Francisco wants to stop this "monstrosity" at all costs. This is demonstrated by the events in the Vatican in recent months, unimaginable in the past: a summit on this subject last February; and a universal law – the
motu proprio "Your estis lux mundi" (You are the light of the world), from May 9, which imposes on all the priests and religious of the world the obligation to denounce not only the cases of badual abuse, but also of harbadment and camouflage they know, present and old.

It also provides that all dioceses in the world shall develop a publicly accessible system over the course of a year to receive information about abuse, harbadment or suspicion. It sets out the procedure for bishops to be investigated in local churches and to speed up investigations.

Francisco had already begun to act. In 2014, he created the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, composed of experts and victims, chaired by American Cardinal Sean O Malley, Archbishop of Boston, the first diocese affected by the scandal. In June 2016, in the
motu proprio "As a loving mother," she ruled that bishops guilty of negligence in cases of abuse – that is, hiding – should be removed.

Last year, he apologized to the Chilean people for his mistakes, after supporting (for the misinformation) a bishop, Juan Barros, accused of having concealed the abuses of the priest accused of Abuses committed by Fernando Karadima, expelled from the Ministry. Francisco – who sent the trans-Andean country to the Maltese archbishop, Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's leading expert on abuse, who made a devastating report – caused an earthquake in the country. Chilean episcopate, who resigned en bloc and was in a process of dramatic cleanliness intervened The pope usually meets the victims once a week and does the same with the three iconic Chileans, whom he invited to spend a few days with him at the Vatican. On this occasion, he reiterated his request for forgiveness.

After a trip to Ireland last August, marked by the same injuries and after being accused by an ex-president of covering an elderly former American cardinal convicted of mistreatment (Theodore McCarrick, whom he also expelled from the priesthood) , Francisco he realized that it was necessary to do more.

Global problem

Last February, aware of the fact that it was a global problem, he summoned the presidents of all the episcopal conferences to a meeting on the subject, an unprecedented event in the Vatican. At this meeting, on a topic until recently taboo, the victims were placed at the center for the first time, which gave scary testimony.

The first result of this summit was the promulgation, on March 29, of a new law for the small state of the Vatican, but intended to serve as a model for all the bishoprics, which requires to report the violations to the competent authorities. . , provides for sanctions for those who do not and a new "escort service for victims". The second result was the
motu proprio "You are lux mundi."

Despite this, the Church still can not recover its credibility. In fact, the skeletons keep coming out of the wardrobe of many prelates and "rotten apples". Something that casts doubt on whether the whole hierarchy wants to follow the change of course demanded by the pope. Francisco has always specified his zero tolerance policy. A clear reflection of this is that for the first time a high prelate, the Australian Cardinal George Pell, who was the Superintendent of the Vatican Economy and a member of the Council of Cardinals Consultors of the Pope, is imprisoned in a prison rank) to three years and nine months in prison for mistreating boys at the altar.

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