Text of presentation - Safeguarding Panel at World Meeting of Families 24AUG2018
I have been introduced as a survivor of clerical abuse and this is the case, I was sexually assaulted as a child by a priest. However this morning I would like to speak as a mother and a wife.
I will never forget the overwhelming flood of love that I felt when my baby was put in my arms for the first time. Soon this was followed by the weight of responsibility which came with it. The realisation that this helpless little person in my arms was totally depending on his father and me to keep him safe from harm. I know these will be feelings familiar to many here.
Pope Francis in his letter to every Catholic in the world a few days ago acknowledged the huge failure in the Church to safeguard children and vulnerable adults – he said “We showed no care for the little ones, we abandoned them” He spoke in clear terms of the atrocities carried out by consecrated persons, clerics and the cover up by church leaders.
Survivors and victims of abuse do not need a letter from the Pope to know this reality, we have been speaking about it for decades. Sadly still in the church among clergy and laity there are people who prefer to believe it is all a media conspiracy or just survivors who are trying to destroy the church – they deny and they defend - Let us hope where they would not believe the survivors they will now believe the Pope. Accept the truth and put their energy, instead of into denial, into bringing the changes that are needed.
All of us, particularly Catholic families need to raise their voices and call for the Church to protect children - the heart of the family – everywhere. It is our duty to speak up and to seek assurance that there is no place in the Catholic Church for anyone who would hurt a child or vulnerable adult or for anyone who would protect such a predator. We must keep children safe.
So what should the Church do to keep our children and vulnerable adults safe and bring justice to survivors?
These are the measure I ask for and I hope you will too:
That the strongest possible safeguarding policies with the strength of canon law behind them should be implemented in every diocese and congregation around the world. The USA and Ireland have strong policies but every child is equally precious, where he or she lives should not decide whether they will be safe or left at risk of harm. Why is this not being done?
There should be robust structures in place to hold fully accountable those in leadership who protect a predator or those in the Vatican who would hinder safety measures, with strong sanctions for the guilty, dismissal from their post, removal of their titles and privileges and if necessary laicization. Such a court was announced by the Vatican three years ago as recommended by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors but has never been put in place. Why not?
The Church on the one hand claims (as the Pope himself did in his recent letter) to be on the side of the victims while at the same time fighting against the removal of statutes of limitation in places where if removed more abusers could be prosecuted and the victims receive justice. The action are contrary to the words! These objections must be dropped.
Real zero tolerance should be put in place to ensure any priest who abuses a child is removed from the church immediately. If canon law does not cover it bring in a new law! Sadly more often canon law has been used to protect the abuser than to punish him. Here in Ireland in the 1990’s we saw bishops being told by the Vatican not to report abusing priests to the police as it was “against canon law” (see Murphy report 2009)
Stop using the Pontifical Secret, in cases of an abusing priests’ canon law trials, to restrict victims from their legal rights to information, files etc. I believe the PCPM recommended this a year ago but it is still in place. The Pontifical Secret was not intended to be used in his way.
The Church must explained why these changes are not being made and every family needs to call for them. If these are new to you please become informed and work for the safety of our children in the church,
I hope in the following discussion we can look at some of these questions.
This is a link to the video of the full session - 2nd item down
www.worldmeeting2018.ie/en/Programme/Congress/Live-Streaming
I have been introduced as a survivor of clerical abuse and this is the case, I was sexually assaulted as a child by a priest. However this morning I would like to speak as a mother and a wife.
I will never forget the overwhelming flood of love that I felt when my baby was put in my arms for the first time. Soon this was followed by the weight of responsibility which came with it. The realisation that this helpless little person in my arms was totally depending on his father and me to keep him safe from harm. I know these will be feelings familiar to many here.
Pope Francis in his letter to every Catholic in the world a few days ago acknowledged the huge failure in the Church to safeguard children and vulnerable adults – he said “We showed no care for the little ones, we abandoned them” He spoke in clear terms of the atrocities carried out by consecrated persons, clerics and the cover up by church leaders.
Survivors and victims of abuse do not need a letter from the Pope to know this reality, we have been speaking about it for decades. Sadly still in the church among clergy and laity there are people who prefer to believe it is all a media conspiracy or just survivors who are trying to destroy the church – they deny and they defend - Let us hope where they would not believe the survivors they will now believe the Pope. Accept the truth and put their energy, instead of into denial, into bringing the changes that are needed.
All of us, particularly Catholic families need to raise their voices and call for the Church to protect children - the heart of the family – everywhere. It is our duty to speak up and to seek assurance that there is no place in the Catholic Church for anyone who would hurt a child or vulnerable adult or for anyone who would protect such a predator. We must keep children safe.
So what should the Church do to keep our children and vulnerable adults safe and bring justice to survivors?
These are the measure I ask for and I hope you will too:
That the strongest possible safeguarding policies with the strength of canon law behind them should be implemented in every diocese and congregation around the world. The USA and Ireland have strong policies but every child is equally precious, where he or she lives should not decide whether they will be safe or left at risk of harm. Why is this not being done?
There should be robust structures in place to hold fully accountable those in leadership who protect a predator or those in the Vatican who would hinder safety measures, with strong sanctions for the guilty, dismissal from their post, removal of their titles and privileges and if necessary laicization. Such a court was announced by the Vatican three years ago as recommended by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors but has never been put in place. Why not?
The Church on the one hand claims (as the Pope himself did in his recent letter) to be on the side of the victims while at the same time fighting against the removal of statutes of limitation in places where if removed more abusers could be prosecuted and the victims receive justice. The action are contrary to the words! These objections must be dropped.
Real zero tolerance should be put in place to ensure any priest who abuses a child is removed from the church immediately. If canon law does not cover it bring in a new law! Sadly more often canon law has been used to protect the abuser than to punish him. Here in Ireland in the 1990’s we saw bishops being told by the Vatican not to report abusing priests to the police as it was “against canon law” (see Murphy report 2009)
Stop using the Pontifical Secret, in cases of an abusing priests’ canon law trials, to restrict victims from their legal rights to information, files etc. I believe the PCPM recommended this a year ago but it is still in place. The Pontifical Secret was not intended to be used in his way.
The Church must explained why these changes are not being made and every family needs to call for them. If these are new to you please become informed and work for the safety of our children in the church,
I hope in the following discussion we can look at some of these questions.
This is a link to the video of the full session - 2nd item down
www.worldmeeting2018.ie/en/Programme/Congress/Live-Streaming