The Vatican’s top sexual abuse experts said on Sunday that the Catholic Church’s attitude towards the handling of sexual abuse cases had changed following a landmark summit.
Speaking to journalists following the pope’s final address, Vatican abuse expert Hans Zollner said clergy had been “transformed” by the conference.
“I’ve heard from many working groups, I’ve heard from many people individually, that they have been transformed… When I hear people from Asia, Africa, speaking now in the same language and with the same determination about how we need to confront this, we need to own it, we need to do something about it at home,” said Father Zollner.
The pope promised that guidelines used by national bishops conferences to prevent abuse and punish perpetrators will be reviewed and strengthened.
He also said the Church’s legal definition of a minor will be raised from the current age of 14 to “expand protection” of young people.
“There is no going back,” said the Vatican’s top abuse advisor, Malta Archbishop Cardinal Charles Scicluna. “For decades we were concentrating on the crime but we also now realise that covering up is also equally egregious.”
Francis vowed that the Roman Catholic Church would “spare no effort” to bring abusers to justice and will not cover up or underestimate abuse as he spoke at the end of a Mass in the frescoed Sala Regia of Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
However, Francis dedicated much of the first part of a speech lasting more than half an hour to statistics from the United Nations and other organisations showing that most sexual abuse of children takes place in families.
Advocates for victims expressed deep disappointment on Sunday, saying Francis merely repeated old promises and offered few new concrete proposals.
