4 takeaways from a first-of-its-kind report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church

A Catholic group tasked with tackling the issue of clerical sexual abuse released a first-of-its-kind report Tuesday on its work over the past decade, sparking a new round of debate over what else should be done.
In the report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors outlines its effort to improve abuse-related safeguards in Catholic churches around the world and to offer more support to sexual abuse victims.
“Nothing we do will ever be enough to fully repair what has happened,” said Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who leads the commission, at a news conference, according to The Associated Press. “But we hope that this report and those that will come, compiled with the help of victims and survivors at the center, will help to ensure the firm commitment that these events never happen again in the church.”
Critics of the report say Cardinal O’Malley’s kind words don’t make up for the commission’s failure to force meaningful change.
“All they’re doing is collecting information from highly prejudiced sources,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, who has tracked clergy abuse over decades, to The New York Times.
Here are four takeaways from the new report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the surrounding debate.
Before unveiling the report to reporters on Tuesday, Cardinal O’Malley thanked and apologized to victims of sexual abuse, according to America magazine associate editor Colleen Dulle, who attended the press conference.
His comments were part of the commission’s broader effort to center the experiences of victims, rather than the concerns of the Catholic Church.
This effort is evident in the report’s calls for the Vatican’s office on sexual abuse to be more transparent.
The commission wrote that “the office’s slow processing of cases and secrecy were retraumatizing to victims, and its refusal to publish statistics or its own jurisprudence continues ‘to foment distrust among the faithful, especially the victim/survivor community,’” per The Associated Press.
The report makes it clear that the Vatican did not share data on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church with the commission, which hampered the group’s ability to understand the scope of the problem.
“The commission called for greater collaboration and dialogue with the office,” the AP reported.
The commission also wrote that it realized through its research that there are few one-size-fits-all solutions to clerical sexual abuse.
Some Catholic dioceses don’t have the financial resources to offer related trainings for clergy members, while others regularly offer training but don’t accept that changes still need to be made.
After discovering the range of issues slowing progress around the world, the commission focused on “realistic areas where it can be of service,” per the AP.
For example, it’s helped impoverished Catholic dioceses get funding for clergy trainings and for victims’ services.
These are small steps in the grand scheme of things, but commission members believe they’re meaningful.
Even after 10 years, they feel that the commission is near the beginning of its journey, and so they’re trying to not get bogged down in how much lies ahead.
“I understand that (the report) won’t satisfy everybody and it won’t satisfy survivors,” said Juan Carlos Cruz, a member of the commission and a survivor of abuse, to The New York Times. “It’s the first one, and it’s a start.”
Cruz and Cardinal O’Malley’s acknowledgement that there’s a lot of work still to be done didn’t satisfy some observers.
Almost as soon as the commission’s report was released Tuesday, it sparked a backlash, as victims’ advocates questioned why the commission is continuing to work within what they see as flawed systems.
One critic described the report as “a house of cards built on sand” in an interview with The New York Times.
Much of the backlash was anticipated, since the commission has had controversial moments over the years. Several of the founding members resigned in its early years after getting fed up with the lack of progress, according to the AP.
Moving forward, the commission will work to improve its reputation with regular public reports.
“We believe change is taking place,” Cardinal O’Malley said Tuesday.