A significant report released on Thursday by a Vatican commission established to tackle the long-standing clerical sexual abuse crisis has declared that the Roman Catholic Church remains far too slow in confronting this pervasive issue.
The commission strongly urged church leaders worldwide to adopt swifter and more transparent actions. It emphasized the critical need for the church to actively listen to and involve survivors in its efforts to rebuild trust, which has been severely eroded by decades of scandal.
“Many times I have also asked myself that same question: Why so slow?” admitted Msgr. Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, the commission’s secretary, during a news conference to unveil the report. “Sometimes I admit that I have been discouraged because I wanted the change to be more obvious, more radical.” However, he noted a positive shift, stating that many bishops globally are now actively collaborating with the commission—a significant improvement from when it was first established eleven years prior.
This year’s report, the commission’s second, placed a particular emphasis on advocating for comprehensive reparations that extend beyond mere financial compensation for some victims.
The report asserted that survivors’ primary needs are not just monetary payments, but rather “recognition of harm, genuine apologies, and meaningful action to prevent future abuses.” Many victims conveyed to the commission that the church’s responses have frequently consisted of “empty settlements, performative gestures, and a persistent refusal to engage” with them “in good faith.”
It explicitly stated that bishops must publicly assume responsibility for the suffering inflicted upon victims.
Known officially as the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the body was founded in 2014 to provide Pope Francis with advice on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from clergy members who are sexual predators. Its diverse membership includes religious figures, survivors, and external experts, some of whom have backgrounds in law enforcement.
From its inception, critics have pointed out the commission’s lack of enforcement authority. The reports it receives from individual countries – approximately two dozen were reviewed this year – largely depend on self-reporting by groups of bishops. Moreover, adherence to questionnaires designed to investigate case handling has not been universal, the commission noted.
This report emerges only months into the papacy of Leo XIV, highlighting the substantial challenges awaiting him. While the report covers events from 2024, prior to Leo becoming pope, he has already met with commission members on four occasions.
The findings suggest that even more than two decades after the clerical abuse crisis erupted globally, the church’s response remains inconsistent. This persists despite the concerted efforts of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis to codify specific responses through new church laws. Victims’ advocacy groups have consistently argued that even Pope Francis’s actions were insufficient to ensure thorough investigations of allegations, the removal of predatory clergy, and the accountability of those who concealed abuse.
The latest document includes a section dedicated to survivors’ concerns, drawing from the experiences of 40 individuals worldwide. Many recounted instances where their abuse complaints were ignored and often, the church failed to provide them access to information regarding their own cases.
One frustrated, anonymous person quoted in the report expressed, “You want to know and they don’t tell you anything. It’s like being sent to purgatory.”
After the initial report was released last year, critics quickly dismissed its country-specific findings, primarily because they lacked independent verification. The second report aimed to address these criticisms by incorporating observations about each nation from the reporting mechanisms of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, alongside insights from the Vatican’s ambassadors and on-the-ground personnel in those countries.
The commission also confirmed that it engaged directly with victims, allowing them to provide their “reactions and perspectives on the accuracy and relevance of the commission’s findings.”
However, Francesco Zanardi, founder and president of Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s leading survivor advocacy group, stated that, at least in Italy’s case, the commission did not reach out to his organization.
The Rev. Hans Zollner, a prominent expert on clerical sex abuse within the church, acknowledged, “The church has made major steps forward, in terms of promulgating guidelines, introducing safety concepts, and education and safeguarding.”
Yet, he concluded that the “picture remains mixed because there is a lack of consistency across countries.”