Pope Leo XIV met for the first time on Thursday with members of the Vatican's advisory commission on child protection amid questions about his previous handling of clerical sex abuse cases.
Survivors also demand that he implement a zero-tolerance policy towards violence in the Catholic Church.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which includes religious and lay people, anti-abuse experts and victims, described the hour-long audience as “a significant moment for reflection, dialogue and strengthening the Church’s unwavering commitment to the protection of children and vulnerable groups.”
The group reported its activities to the first-ever American pope, including initiatives aimed at helping church communities in poor regions of the world prevent violence and support victims.
The Vatican did not provide the text of Leo's speech or offer journalists an audio recording of the meeting.
Pope Francis created the commission early in his pontificate to advise the church on best practices and appointed a trusted confidant, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, then archbishop of Boston, to the job.
But as sexual abuse scandals spread around the world during Francis's 12-year pontificate, the commission lost its influence, and its key proposal – to create a tribunal to try bishops who shield abusive priests – fell on deaf ears.
After years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can turn for support and bishops can get advice on developing anti-abuse policies.
Cardinal O'Malley turned 80 last year and stepped down as archbishop of Boston, but he remains president of the commission and leads the delegation to meet with Leo at the Apostolic Palace.
Cardinal O'Malley has spoken out frequently on cases brought to the Vatican, including one now before Leo: the fate of a former Jesuit artist, the Rev. Marko Rupnik, who has been accused over decades by more than two dozen women of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse.
After Francis came under fire for seemingly giving special treatment to a fellow Jesuit, he ordered the Vatican in 2023 to lift the statute of limitations on the case and prosecute him canonically.
But as recently as March, the Vatican was unable to find judges to begin the trial. Meanwhile, the victims continue to wait for justice, while Reverend Rupnik continues to minister and his supporters defend him and denounce the “media lynching” campaign against him.
Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago and is said by victims to have helped root out an abusive Catholic movement in Peru, where he long served as a bishop.
However, other survivors have called on him to recount other experiences from his time as an Augustinian prior, a bishop in Peru and head of the Vatican episcopate.
The leading US organisation helping abuse victims, Snap, also called on Leo to implement a US policy that any priest credibly accused of abuse should be permanently suspended from ministry.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
