The Vatican will publish in 72 hours its first report on the protection of minors in the Church

Presented as a “first step,” the text “documents the risks that persist and the progress that can be made in the Church’s efforts to protect children and vulnerable adults,” the commission said, specifying that it will also include “recommendations.” specific«.

In April 2022, the leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics asked the commission for this report to have “reliable information about what is happening and what needs to change,” calling for a “new beginning.”

The members of the commission found during their investigation “the lack of available data” on sexual assaults, declared the Dutch jurist Maud De Boer Buquicchio, responsible for writing the report.

The text, whose length was not specified, is divided into four parts, which will study the procedures in force in some fifteen local Churches on different continents, as well as within the Roman Curia, the central government of the Vatican.

Resignation

The members of the commission, appointed directly by Francis, are religious and secular experts in various areas related to the protection of people, including law, education, psychology, psychiatry and human rights.

Integrated into the Curia in 2022, this body faces severe criticism and registered several resignations. Hans Zollner, its most influential member, resigned in March 2023, accusing it of having structural and transparency problems.

Despite the measures adopted by the Pope since his election in 2013, such as the lifting of the pontifical secret or the obligation to report on cases, victims’ associations consider that concrete actions remain insufficient.