U.S. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago (Catholic News Service photo / Paul Haring)
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis named U.S. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago to be part of the organizing committee preparing for a meeting of the world’s bishops’ conferences and representatives of religious orders to address the abuse and protection of minors.
The Feb. 21-24 Vatican meeting is not only “about keeping children safe from harm worldwide,” said Greg Burke, head of the Vatican press office, in a written statement Nov. 23.
“Pope Francis wants church leaders to have a full understanding of the devastating impact that clerical sexual abuse has on victims,” he said, soon after the Vatican announced the members of the preparatory committee.
Together with Cardinal Cupich, the committee will include Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta; and Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, president of the Centre for the Protection of Minors at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, headed by Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, and some survivors of abuse by members of the clergy also will be involved in the preparatory work for the meeting, the Vatican said.
“This a critical moment for the universal church in addressing the sexual abuse crisis,” Cardinal O’Malley said, and the February meeting “will be an important moment for developing a clear path forward for dioceses around the world.”
“We must continue to embrace and practice a commitment to zero tolerance, work for greater transparency, including the release of names of clergy accused of abuse, and encourage all religious orders to adopt a similar policy and cooperate with civil and legal authorities. Above all else, we must place the support and pastoral care of survivors first,” he said in a written statement Nov. 23.
“This is a lifelong journey” that “requires a partnership between the laity and clergy in responding to the failures of episcopal leadership by holding bishops accountable for the crimes against children and vulnerable adults,” he said.
Cardinal O’Malley said the pontifical commission, as an advisory body to the pope, proposed the global meeting for the world’s bishops. He said the commission has hosted meetings between survivors and groups of newly named bishops, and those meetings “have inspired our view that calling the bishops to Rome for a similar high-impact meeting would be very important in addressing the clergy abuse crisis globally.”
Cardinal Cupich told Crux Nov. 23 that while Pope Francis understands very well the degree of suffering in the United States because of abuse, the pope is calling a global meeting because “he understands this to be a global issue.”
“The pope is seeking both a comprehensive understanding of past failings, as well as global solutions moving forward,” the cardinal said Nov. 23.
Cardinal Cupich told Crux it will be critical that all church leaders take “ownership for our failures fully in order to ensure they are not repeated.” This will require clearly defining responsibilities and establishing “responsiveness, transparency, and accountability, particularly for bishops,” he added.
He said the pope sees safeguarding as part of his call for a change of culture, “that is, a reform in how we approach ministry for, in addition to being a crime, sexual abuse of minors by clerics is about the corruption of our ministry.”
The February meeting “is the beginning of a worldwide reform that will need to be ongoing and will involve a process of initiatives on regional, national and diocesan levels,” he said.
