The next pope should be American, an advocate of priest abuse reform said in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday. Not for political reasons, she added, but because of the steps the US church has taken to improve safety.
“They’re the only bishops in the world that have gotten used to two key safety steps,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of Bishop Accountability. “Zero tolerance for abusers and disclosing the names of abusers. Everywhere else in the world that is practically unthinkable.”
Doyle pointed to Cardinal Seán O’Malley, head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, as a figure who understands the urgency.
But priest abuse survivor Ann Hagan Webb said the church has yet to follow through on its promises.
“They can say wonderful things about what they’re going to do, they make statements, they even shed tears and then when the cameras stop, they don’t do their investigations,” she said. “They don’t fulfil their promises of their commissions to help survivors and protect children.”
Last year, a report from Pope Francis’ commission for child protection found that parts of the Roman Catholic Church were still failing to ensure clerical sexual abuse was reported adequately, raising concerns about a “lack of transparency” in the Vatican’s handling of cases.
