VATICAN CITY: Ignored by the Catholic hierarchy for decades after being raped by a priest, Marie Collins speaks out on Tuesday at a Vatican summit that she hopes will mark a turning point for the Church.
“This symposium is extremely important. It looks like a changing time, a change in attitudes of the Church,” Collins told AFP in an interview before taking the floor in front of assorted cardinals and bishops in Rome.
Collins, now a leading voice in pushing for justice for Irish abuse victims and in calling on the Catholic leadership to take responsibility for the systematic cover-up of abusers, is the only victim taking part in the meeting.
“I know there will be many people maybe who think this is a PR exercise but my hope is that this is an important turning point and an important indication of how the Church is going to act in the future,” Collins said.
The 64-year-old said she hoped the unprecedented meeting hosted by the Vatican's Gregorian University would “increase an understanding of how abuses affect a victim and how mishandling can also affect the victim.
“Any increase in understanding has to be a help this who are dealing with abuse now and in the future. Knowledge is protection,” she said.
“The more information there is available, the more help is available for the Church leadership in dealing with this,” she added.
Pope Benedict XVI addressed conference participants on Monday calling for a “profound renewal” at every level of the Church to prevent abuse, as well as “a vigorous culture of effective safeguarding and victim support.”
The conference will also see the launch of a Germany-based Centre for Child Protection to help inform Catholic clergy around the world on best practices for preventing paedophilia and for assisting the victims of abuse.
But victims groups like the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the Italian group La Caramella Buona have dismissed the conference as propaganda by the Church.
Collins, who was abused at the age of 13 and has been in conflict with the Church ever since, said she too struggled with the decision on whether or not to take part but had decided that the potential benefits were too important.
She said a special penitential church service later on Tuesday in which Catholic leaders will plead for forgiveness was particularly significant, but she emphasised that past crimes should not be forgotten.
“We had good men making the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons. The result was that perpetrators were left free to abuse when they should not have been. We need accountability for that but we also need to move forward.
“It doesn't mean that everything is fine. There are still many people who are very hurt and very angry but we have to think of the children now who need to be protected in the future,” she said.
“We can't go back and save the children that have already been abused. This is not the end, it is the beginning of something, a step in the right direction. We will see down the line what the fruits are.”