Tom Kington
6:08 p.m. CDT, May 3, 2014
Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston and Marie Collins, a victim of abuse by a priest when she was a teenager, are among the members of the commission on sexual abuse appointed by Pope Francis. The group held its first sessions Thursday through Saturday at the Vatican. (Tiziana Fabi / AFP/Getty Images / May 3, 2014)
Reporting from Rome—
Members of a commission on sexual abuse created by Pope Francis said Saturday that they intended to design “clear and effective protocols” to protect children from abusive priests.
The group, which includes experts on the issue and victims of abuse, also will tackle bishops’ cover-ups of predator priests and examine policies set by bishops’ groups, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston said after the eight-member commission ended several days of meetings at the Vatican.
“Our concern is to make sure that there are clear and effective protocols to deal with situations where superiors of the church have not fulfilled their obligations to protect children,” O’Malley said. “There are, theoretically I guess, canons that could apply here, but obviously they have not been sufficient.”
O’Malley said some senior church members remain “in denial” about abuse and cover-ups. Anti-abuse groups have alleged that bishops continue to shift abusive priests to new dioceses to shield them from prosecution.
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