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March 15, 2019

Church must follow, accept local laws on abuse, Fr. Hans Zollner says

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, president of the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, prays at the start of the third day of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 23, 2019.
VATICAN – The Catholic Church must respect the law and accept court decisions regarding clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up, said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a leading expert in child protection.
Published in International
March 12, 2017

Hear no evil: How culture of resistance may hinder child protection

A number of church leaders on the front lines promoting child protection policies noted that the biggest challenge they face is a cultural one.

VATICAN CITY – When a child-protection advocate resigned from a papal advisory board in early March, she did so because of growing frustration with persistent resistance and a "toxic" sense of superiority from some in the Roman Curia.

Published in Faith
February 18, 2017

‘People don’t really understand what we do,’ says head of Toronto's Catholic Children’s Aid

Janice Robinson, executive director of the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, admits her group’s work can seem “a bit murky.”

When kids aging out of the child welfare system got together in 2012 to tell the Ontario legislature what they think the system should look like, one of the first things they talked about was how invisible they become — how little the world knows about child protection.

Published in Canada
June 16, 2016

‘Special forces’ armed with skills to fight abuse

The nineteen men and women, as part of the "special forces" in the fight against child abuse, graduated from Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University on June 14.

The Catholic Church has launched a new kind of "special forces" in the fight against child abuse.

Published in Vatican
April 23, 2016

Brothers, sisters, fathers: Religious orders key to child protection

Father John Fogarty, superior general of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, is pictured at the order's headquarters in Rome April 20. Father Fogarty said drawing up guidelines for the congregation to prevent sexual abuse "was the first priority" after he became superior in 2012.

VATICAN CITY – In a continuing effort to protect children, the Catholic Church's focus is now turning to religious orders of men and women.

Published in International
February 9, 2015

Bishops' accountability is key concern for Pope's child protection commission

Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors warns bishops who do not follow the Vatican-approved child protection norms will face “real consequences.”

VATICAN CITY - Bishops who do not comply with the child protection norms adopted by their bishops' conferences and approved by the Vatican must face real consequences, said Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Published in International