Meetings with victims of abuse

On Sunday, July 6, all members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors met at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, coordinated by Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., with the collaboration of Msgr. Robert Oliver at an organisational level.

The issues under consideration were:

• Proposals for the selection and appointment of new members, to integrate the Commission with representatives from other geographical areas; 
• Statutes of the Commission; 
• The need to institute an operative Office; and
• The possibility of organizing working groups on specific themes with the collaboration of specialists and other institutions.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place during the month of October. It is hoped that new members of the Commission will be present.

Time was also dedicated to the preparation of the Holy Father’s meeting with a number of victims, scheduled for the following morning.

On the morning of Monday, July 7, a meeting took place between the Pope and a number of survivors of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

The invitees arrived at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in the afternoon of Sunday 6 July.  While they were dining in the refectory, the Holy Father appeared to address a first brief greeting to them.  There are six adults, three men and three women, from Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Each victim was accompanied by a family member or other companion  The participants had been invited by Cardinal O’Malley from several countries where there exists a Church structure regarding the victims of sexual abuse.  The participants had been invited to meet the Pope.

The Pope first celebrated a Mass with them in the Sanctae Marthae chapel at 7 a.m., attended also by their companions, members of the Commission and a limited number of other collaborators. The focus of the Mass was for peace and justice. During the Mass, the Pope pronounced a homily for them in Spanish; each participant was given a translation of the text in his or her own language.  After Mass, the Pope greeted the individuals present, as usual.  After breakfast, the Pope received the individual visitors, with their companions, for a private personal discussion in a room in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, one after another.  The discussions lasted from 9 a.m. to around 12.20 p.m.

The participants, after the discussions, expressed their emotion and their satisfaction at having been listened to by the Pope with such attention and willingness. The Pope showed that listening helps to understand and prepare the way to reinstate trust, heal wounds, and to open up the possibility of reconciliation with God and with the Church.