Part of a series on the |
Roman Curia |
---|
Catholicismportal |
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (Italian : Pontificia Commissione per la Tutela dei Minori) is a pontifical commission within the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church instituted by Pope Francis on 22 March 2014 as an advisory agency serving the pope. Since 5 June 2022, the Commission has been part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, operating with its officials and according to its norms.
Cardinal Seán O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, has been its first and current president since 17 December 2014. [1]
Pope Francis's chirograph for the Institution of a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of minors (22 March 2014) states: [2]
The aim of the Commission is to promote the protection of the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, using the forms and methods, consonant with the nature of the Church, which they consider most appropriate, as well as through their cooperation with individuals and groups pursuing these same objectives.
His apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium (19 March 2022) states: [3]
The Pontifical Commission assists diocesan/eparchial Bishops, Episcopal Conferences and Eastern Hierarchical Structures, Superiors of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and their Conferences in developing appropriate strategies and procedures, through Guidelines to protect minors and vulnerable persons from sexual abuse and to provide an appropriate response to such conduct by clergy and members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, according to canonical norms and taking into account the requirements of civil law.
The pope appoints the Commission's president, secretary and members to five-year terms. The members need not be clerics; all must be "distinguished by science, proven ability and pastoral experience". The Commission advises the pope and proposes "initiatives for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons". It assists bishops and their organizations as well as all forms of religious associations "in developing appropriate strategies and procedures [...] to protect minors and vulnerable persons from sexual abuse and to provide an adequate response to such conduct by the clergy and other religious. In doing so it follows "canonical norms" and considers as well "the requirements of civil law". Though part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Commission has its officials and operates according to its norms. [3]
On 5 December 2013, following a meeting of the Council of Cardinal Advisers, Cardinal Seán O'Malley announced that Pope Francis had decided to create a commission for the protection of minors to evaluate current programs, propose initiatives, and identify personnel to implement them, "including lay persons, religious and priests with responsibilities for the safety of children, in relations with the victims, in mental health, in the application of the law, etc." [4] Pope Francis created the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and named its first eight members on 22 March 2014. They were tasked with drafting the Commission's statutes to "define its tasks and competencies". [5] [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2]
On 10 September 2014, Father Robert W. Oliver BH, the chief prosecutor of clergy for sex abuse crimes at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was named the Commission's secretary. [8] On 17 December 2014, Pope Francis added eight members to the Commission, including a second abuse survivor, Peter Saunders, head of a UK-based organization of sexual abuse survivors, and experts from five continents, bringing the total to 17 (the original right, the secretary, and the additional eight), eight of them women. [1] [9] [10] [lower-alpha 3] This announcement identified O'Malley as president of the Commission for the first time. [1]
The Commission met for the first time on 6–8 February 2015, [1] and on 8 May released the Commission's statutes, [11] which were dated 21 April 2015. [12]
The statutes declared the Commission "an autonomous institution attached to the Holy See". It was to propose initiatives to promote local responsibility, based on extensive consultations church officials, including local jurisdictions, organizations of religious, and Curial departments. Its maximum membership was set at 18, appointed to three-year terms. The terms of the president and secretary may be renewed. It details the procedures for meetings, setting the Commission's agenda, and delegating questions to work groups. The norms described were given force for three years, at which point the members could propose modifications. [2]
In 2015, Commission member Marie Collins, former victim of abuse, [13] has criticized the Vatican for failing to sufficiently fund the panel, a problem she claims could jeopardize the commission's work. The commission has been advised to consider raising its own funds to complete the work. [14]
In February 2016, the commission members watched the Oscar-nominated film Spotlight together. The movie dramatizes the 2001 experience of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative team at the Boston Globe as they uncovered and exposed systematic sex abuse and subsequent cover-ups by clergy and members of the church hierarchy in Boston. [15]
In February 2017, Marie Collins resigned from the commission stating: "there are still men at that level in the church who would resist or hinder work to protect children in 2017, it's just not acceptable". [13] [16]
Upon the expiration of the members' terms in December 2017, on 17 February 2018 Pope Francis relaunched the commission with major personnel changes. He reappointed O'Malley, Oliver and six other members and adding nine new members, eight men and eight women. [17] [18] [lower-alpha 4] Several of those members of the commission are victims of clerical sexual abuse, but the commission said it would respect their decision not to identify themselves publicly. [17]
Since 5 June 2022, the Commission has been part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, operating with its own officials and according to its own norms, as prescribed by the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium . [3]
Pope Francis explained that the Commission was placed there because that Dicastery "deals with sexual abuse on the part of members of the clergy" and it was "not possible to have a 'satellite commission', circling around but unattached to the organization chart." He told the members of the Commission: "Someone might think that this could put at risk your freedom of thought and action, or even take away importance from the issue with which you deal. That is not my intention, nor is it my expectation. And I invite you to be watchful that this does not happen." [19] Commission secretary pro tempore Fr. Andrew Small, O.M.I. described the relationship as tying the Dicastery's role in "the administration of justice" to the Commission's "focus on safeguarding and protection". [20]
On 29 March 2023, Hans Zollner left the commission and criticised it, stating among other things: "in my work with the commission, I have noticed issues that need to be urgently addressed and which have made it impossible for me to continue further". [21] [22] The next day, his criticism was criticised by the president of the commission, O'Malley, who stated among other things: "I am surprised, disappointed, and strongly disagree with [Zollner's] publicly-issued assertions challenging the commission's effectiveness". [23]
On March 15, 2024, O'Malley announced that Pope Francis had appointed Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, a Colombian bishop to be the new secretary and Teresa Morris Kettlekamp to be the adjunct secretary, marking the first time that a bishop will serve as secretary and that a lay woman will serve in the new adjunct secretary role. [24]
The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use of in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Peter, and of the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, according to the modalities that are proper to the nature of each one, fulfilling their function with an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of communion, unity and edification of the Universal Church and attending to the demands of the world in which the Church is called to fulfill its mission.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine.
Seán Patrick O'Malley is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts since 2003. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and was elevated by the Vatican to the rank of cardinal in 2006.
Marc Armand Ouellet is a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 2010 to 2023.
The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops, is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dicastery also schedules the visits at five-year intervals that bishops are required to make to Rome, when they meet with the pope and various departments of the Curia. It also manages the formation of new dioceses. It is one of the more influential Dicasteries, since it strongly influences the human resources policy of the church.
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic churches for the sake of assisting their development and protecting their rights. It also maintains whole and entire in the one Catholic Church the heritage and canon law of the various Eastern Catholic traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan and Turkey, and also oversees jurisdictions based in Romania, Southern Italy, Hungary, India and Ukraine.
In the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church, a congregation is a type of department of the Curia. They are second-highest-ranking departments, ranking below the two Secretariats, and above the pontifical councils, pontifical commissions, tribunals and offices.
Pastor bonus is an apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988. It instituted a number of reforms in the process of running the central government of the Catholic Church.
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under the auspices of the Dicastery for Bishops and for most of its history the prefect of that body has been president of the Commission.
The ecclesiastical response to Catholic sexual abuse cases is a major aspect of the academic literature surrounding the Church's child sexual abuse scandal. The Catholic Church's response to the scandal can be viewed on three levels: the diocesan level, the episcopal conference level and the Vatican. Responses to the scandal proceeded at all three levels in parallel with the higher levels becoming progressively more involved as the gravity of the problem became more apparent.
The Curial response to Catholic sexual abuse cases was a significant part of the Church's response to Catholic sexual abuse cases. Its policies have shifted from favoring secrecy in the 20th century to active reform and apologies in the 21st century. Under the current leadership of Pope Francis, the issue has been addressed through direct instructions to report cases of sexual abuse and revoking the former policies of secrecy.
Paul Desmond Tighe is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Secretary of the Section of Culture of the Dicastery for Culture and Education since 2022.
The Council of Cardinals, also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his advisers. The Council was formally established on 28 September 2013.
The Dicastery for Communication is a division (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed through its website. These are the Pope's website and other offices such as Vatican News on internet, the Holy See Press Office, L'Osservatore Romano, Photograph Service, Vatican Radio, Vatican Press, and the Vatican Publishing House. The Pontifical Council for Social Communications has been subsumed into this new Dicastery.
The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis announced its creation on 15 August 2016, effective 1 September 2016. It took over the functions and responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family. It has responsibility "for the promotion of the life and apostolate of the lay faithful, for the pastoral care of the family and its mission according to God's plan and for the protection and support of human life."
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development is a dicastery of the Roman curia.
Hans Zollner, SJ is a German Jesuit priest, theologian and psychologist, Professor at the Gregorian University, Director of its Institute of Anthropology. Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) and one of the leading experts on safeguarding and prevention of sexual abuse.
The Vatican sexual abuse summit, officially the Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, was a four-day Catholic Church summit meeting in Vatican City that ran from 21 to 24 February 2019, convened by Pope Francis to discuss preventing sexual abuse by Catholic Church clergy.
Praedicate evangelium is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia and was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis; the document took effect on 5 June 2022.
The Dicastery for Culture and Education is an administrative unit of the Roman Curia. It began operations on 5 June 2022 as established by the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium promulgated on 19 March 2022. It was formed through the merger of two earlier bodies, the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Congregation for Catholic Education.