Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis de la Vaissiere, 3 May 2014
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Members of
the anti-paedophilia Pontifical commission, US Cardinal Sean
Patrick O'Malley
(R) and Irish Marie Collins attend a press conference on
May 3, 2014 at the
Vatican (AFP Photo/Tiziana Fabi)
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Vatican
City (AFP) - A Vatican panel said Saturday it would develop "best
practices" for Catholic parishes to combat paedophile priests, but stopped
short of urging mandatory reporting of abuse to police.
"In
time, we will propose initiatives to encourage local responsibility around the
world and the mutual sharing of 'best practices' for the protection of all
minors, including programmes for training, education, formation and responses
to abuse," the eight-member panel said in a statement.
"We
see ensuring accountability in the Church as especially important, including
developing means for effective and transparent protocols and processes,"
said the panel, which includes prominent Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley and
Irish abuse victim and campaigner Marie Collins.
The Vatican
has been more proactive in investigating allegations of abuse and listening to
victims in recent years and has promised zero tolerance for abusers.
But it
faces a backlog of thousands of cases and has been criticised for failing to do
enough to punish predatory priests or the senior clergymen who covered up for
them.
Speaking to
reporters after a three-day meeting of the panel at the Vatican -- their first
since Pope Francis set up the panel in March -- O'Malley said there must be
zero tolerance both for "those who perpetrated the offences" and
"those who were negligent" in bringing them to justice.
"We
want to make sure to have clear protocols... to make people accountable,"
he said.
In reply to
questions, he did not elaborate on how abusive priests and those who protect
them could be more effectively handed over to local law enforcement.
This was a
key demand contained in a February report by the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child.
The
committee called on the Church to remove all clergy suspected of raping or
molesting children "and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement
authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes".
On Monday
and Tuesday the UN Committee Against Torture will hold hearings on the Vatican,
which campaigners see as a fresh chance to examine the Catholic Church's record
on child sexual abuse by priests.
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Marie Collins, right, and Baroness Hollins are members of
the Pope's new commission on clerical sex abuse (Photo: PA)
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