Vatican Conference: "Combatting the deadly culture of silence"

Cardinal-designate Fernando Filoni, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples presides on Wednesday evening at Mass in the Church of the Holy Apostles for participants in the four day symposium on dealing with the sex abuse crisis. The meeting, organised by the Pontifical Gregorian University, concludes on Thursday with the launch of a child protection centre to provide valuable resources for bishops’ conferences around the world. Philippa Hitchen has been following the symposium for us….
The moral and legal duties of church leaders to respond to all cases of sexual abuse by the clergy was the focus of the opening session of the symposium on Wednesday. In a hard hitting speech by the Vatican’s top expert on child protection, Msgr Charles Scicluna, Promoter of Justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, participants from countries around the world heard how it is essential for them to combat “the deadly culture of silence” which in some places still exists….
“We need to move on and denounce it for what it is…an enemy of truth and an enemy of justice”
On the question of compensation and justice for victims, Msgr Sciclina said it’s important for local Churches to cooperate fully with the civil law of their countries. But he said Church guidelines on dealing with abuse cases should also look closely at these very practical questions…
“I think it would be wise for guidelines to have a section on damages….this will be different from one jurisdiction to another “
Echoing former Pope John Paul II’s words that “there is no place in the priesthood or religious life for those who would harm the young”, Msgr stressed that formation is at the heart of the struggle to create a new culture of awareness and commitment to the child protection. Not just the formation of seminarians, priests and lay people, but also of bishops to ensure better accountability from all leaders of the Church
“What we need to do is be vigilant in choosing candidates for the important role of bishop and use guidelines that already exist for the accountability of bishops” Listen