Following his opening comments offered this morning, the Holy Father shared some reflection points with those who are gathered for the Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church which is taking place at the Vatican this week.
Below are some points which have been gathered from the various Commissions and Episcopal Conferences as a help to the reflections that will take place as part of the work of this week's Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church.
1. Develop a practical handbook which specifies the steps to be taken by authorities at key moments during the emergence of a case.
2. Provide a structure for listening, composed of trained and experienced people, where a first discernment of alleged victims is carried out.
3. Establish criteria for the direct involvement of the Bishop or the Religious Superior.
4. Implement shared procedures for the examination of the charges, the protection of the victims and the right of defence of the accused.
5. Inform civil authorities and ecclesiastical superiors in compliance with civil and canonical norms.
6. Periodically review protocols and rules to safeguard a protected environment for minors in all pastoral structures; protocols and norms based on the principles of justice and charity must be integrated so that the action of the Church also in this field is in conformity with her mission.
7. Establish specific protocols for handling accusations against Bishops.
8. Accompany protect and care for victims, offering them all necessary support for a complete recovery.
9. Increase awareness of the causes and consequences of sexual abuse through ongoing formation initiatives for Bishops, Religious Superiors, clerics and pastoral workers.
10. Prepare pastoral care pathways for communities injured by abuses and penitential and recovery routes for the perpetrators.
11. Consolidate the collaboration with all people of good will and with the operators of the mass media in order to recognize and discern real cases from false ones, accusations from slander, avoiding rancour and insinuations, rumours and defamation (cf. Address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2018).
12. Raise the minimum age for marriage to sixteen years.
13. Establish provisions that regulate and facilitate the participation of lay experts in investigations and in the various degrees of judgment of canonical processes concerning sexual and / or power abuse.
14. The right to defence: the principle of natural and canon law of the presumption of innocence must also be safeguarded until the guilt of the accused is proven. Therefore it is necessary to prevent the lists of the accused from being published, even by the dioceses, before the preliminary investigation and the definitive condemnation.
15. Observe the traditional principle of proportionality of punishment with respect to the crime committed. To decide that priests and bishops guilty of sexual abuse of minors leave the public ministry.
16. Introduce rules concerning seminarians and candidates to the priesthood or religious life, including programs of initial and ongoing formation to consolidate their human, spiritual and psychosexual maturity, as well as their interpersonal relationships and their behavior.
17. Make a psychological evaluation by qualified and accredited experts for candidates for the priesthood and consecrated life.
18. Indicate the rules governing the transfer of a seminarian or religious aspirant from one seminary to another; as well as a priest or religious from one diocese or congregation to another.
19. Formulate mandatory codes of conduct for all clerics, religious, service personnel and volunteers, to outline appropriate limits in personal relationships. Specify the necessary requirements for staff and volunteers, and check their criminal records.
20. Explain all information and data on the dangers of abuse and its effects, how to recognize signs of abuse and how to report suspected sexual abuse. All this must take place in collaboration with parents, teachers, professionals and civil authorities.
21. It is necessary to establish - where this has not yet been done - a body easily accessible for victims who want to report any crimes. An organism that enjoys autonomy also with respect to the local ecclesiastical authority and composed of expert persons (clerics and laity), who know how to express the Church's attention to those who, in this field, consider themselves offended by improper attitudes on the part of clerics.
Reflection points shared by the Holy Father, Pope Francis
1. Develop a practical handbook which specifies the steps to be taken by authorities at key moments during the emergence of a case.
2. Provide a structure for listening, composed of trained and experienced people, where a first discernment of alleged victims is carried out.
3. Establish criteria for the direct involvement of the Bishop or the Religious Superior.
4. Implement shared procedures for the examination of the charges, the protection of the victims and the right of defence of the accused.
5. Inform civil authorities and ecclesiastical superiors in compliance with civil and canonical norms.
6. Periodically review protocols and rules to safeguard a protected environment for minors in all pastoral structures; protocols and norms based on the principles of justice and charity must be integrated so that the action of the Church also in this field is in conformity with her mission.
7. Establish specific protocols for handling accusations against Bishops.
8. Accompany protect and care for victims, offering them all necessary support for a complete recovery.
9. Increase awareness of the causes and consequences of sexual abuse through ongoing formation initiatives for Bishops, Religious Superiors, clerics and pastoral workers.
10. Prepare pastoral care pathways for communities injured by abuses and penitential and recovery routes for the perpetrators.
11. Consolidate the collaboration with all people of good will and with the operators of the mass media in order to recognize and discern real cases from false ones, accusations from slander, avoiding rancour and insinuations, rumours and defamation (cf. Address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2018).
12. Raise the minimum age for marriage to sixteen years.
13. Establish provisions that regulate and facilitate the participation of lay experts in investigations and in the various degrees of judgment of canonical processes concerning sexual and / or power abuse.
14. The right to defence: the principle of natural and canon law of the presumption of innocence must also be safeguarded until the guilt of the accused is proven. Therefore it is necessary to prevent the lists of the accused from being published, even by the dioceses, before the preliminary investigation and the definitive condemnation.
15. Observe the traditional principle of proportionality of punishment with respect to the crime committed. To decide that priests and bishops guilty of sexual abuse of minors leave the public ministry.
16. Introduce rules concerning seminarians and candidates to the priesthood or religious life, including programs of initial and ongoing formation to consolidate their human, spiritual and psychosexual maturity, as well as their interpersonal relationships and their behavior.
17. Make a psychological evaluation by qualified and accredited experts for candidates for the priesthood and consecrated life.
18. Indicate the rules governing the transfer of a seminarian or religious aspirant from one seminary to another; as well as a priest or religious from one diocese or congregation to another.
19. Formulate mandatory codes of conduct for all clerics, religious, service personnel and volunteers, to outline appropriate limits in personal relationships. Specify the necessary requirements for staff and volunteers, and check their criminal records.
20. Explain all information and data on the dangers of abuse and its effects, how to recognize signs of abuse and how to report suspected sexual abuse. All this must take place in collaboration with parents, teachers, professionals and civil authorities.
21. It is necessary to establish - where this has not yet been done - a body easily accessible for victims who want to report any crimes. An organism that enjoys autonomy also with respect to the local ecclesiastical authority and composed of expert persons (clerics and laity), who know how to express the Church's attention to those who, in this field, consider themselves offended by improper attitudes on the part of clerics.
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