VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In the days leading up to the conclave, as cardinals have met in the general congregations to discuss the most urgent matters facing the church, the continued need to combat sex abuse, which cardinals described as a “wound” on the church, was emphasized by a number of prelates, according to the Vatican.
As the cardinals consider who should be the next pope, advocates for clergy abuse survivors have also gathered around the Vatican, highlighting the need for a pontiff who will care for victims and who will enforce safeguarding and accountability measures across Catholic institutions.
The meetings have also been an opportunity in the sede vacante, or period between popes, for cardinals and advocates alike to take stock of Pope Francis’ record on sex abuse reforms — as they discuss what they do and don’t want to continue with his successor.
Francis “ was the first pope to really begin to say that clerical sexual abuse is more than a sin, that it’s also a crime. And once he did, that completely changed the whole perception of how the church should react,” said Jo Renee Formicola, professor emerita of political science at Seton Hall University.
The author of “Papal Policies on Clerical Sexual Abuse: God Weep …