VATICAN CITY: The Catholic Church must make it easier to remove priests who have abused minors while giving victims “access to the truth”, a papal commission at the Vatican said on Tuesday in its inaugural report on protecting children.

The detailed global report from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was the first since the body was set up by Pope Francis in 2014 to try to tackle widespread abuse within the Church.

While not an audit of sex abuse cases, the 50-page document sought to identify shortfalls and promote effective policies across the breadth of the Church to protect children and vulnerable adults.

The commission’s head, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, told a press conference on Tuesday that the Church was emerging from a “dark period” in which “leaders tragically failed those we are called to shepherd.” Acknowleding that effecting change within the institution was an “uphill climb”, he said a transition had begun “where accou­ntability, care, and concern for victims is beginning to bring light to the darkness.”

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024